Back and Again: Rewritten
by Starian NightZz
Summary: AU Time Travel FemNaru. Given a second chance to live the life that she never had the chance to, Namikaze Yuri enters Konoha in the middle of the Third Great Shinobi War as the younger sister of the Yellow Flash.
1. A Painful Decision

_Summary:_

_AU Time Travel FemNaru. Given a second chance to live the life that she never had the chance to, Namikaze Yuri enters Konoha in the middle of the Third Great Shinobi War as the younger sister of the Yellow Flash. Obito/Yuri_

As promised, this is the rewritten version. As before, this is a time travel story, and this still is an Obito/Yuri (FemNaru) pairing. Also, Haku never died in this story, but Zabuza did. This story will also be slighter darker than the previous version. Also, the Kyuubi had already been extracted from Yuri, so no Kyuubi here, people. Yuri and the Konoha 12 are also 15 in this story.

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

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**Chapter One: A Painful Decision**

_War brings death, wounds and pain to both sides. There is nothing harder to accept than the deaths of those that you love. Your generation that hasn't known war, try to find meaning in death only to be left with pain, and with more hatred that you don't know what to do with. Dying like trash, never ending hatred… __**That **__is war. And in time, this is what you must face, Yuri. Your generation has never known war. And those that do not know war try to find meaning in death only to be left with pain. And with more hatred that you do not know what to do with._

Namikaze Yuri breathed heavily before she cursed to herself as she pressed one hand to her abdomen, and pulled away only to see fresh blood on her fingertips. She then glanced over the battlefield. Numerous dead bodies lay all over the battlefield, with some of it their enemy, and some of it being shinobis from their side.

'_You're right about that, Nagato.'_

The Fourth Great Shinobi War had commenced nearly six months ago, with the enemies being what remained of the Akatsuki – Uchiha Madara, Zetsu, and most surprisingly, Yakushi Kabuto himself, along with Uchiha Sasuke and his Team Hawk.

For the first time in shinobi history, all five nations have allied themselves together to fight against Uchiha Madara and his animated army.

Yuri panted heavily, blood running down the side of her face, staining her hair a darker red. Blood was also running down her arm like rivets. A hand clamped down on her shoulder just then, and she spun around sharply only to see the slight panicked expression of her old teammate Sakura.

"Sakura?"

Sakura looked worse for the wear as well, with injuries and bruises all over, but it doesn't seem life threatening. "Godaime-sama sent me to get you." Sakura informed Yuri quickly. "Come!"

And she grabbed Yuri by the wrist before the redhead could protest, dragging her to who-knows-where, practically stepping over hundreds of bodies before Sakura led her to a cave-like area where two ninjas from the 'Shinobi' army were standing guard with dangerous-looking weapons in their hands. The two nodded politely to Sakura before letting the two pass, with Yuri getting more confused by the minute.

"Sakura, what is going on?" Yuri questioned.

"Tsunade-sama will explain everything in a few moments," said Sakura. "We're here."

She released her hold on Yuri's wrist as they both entered a cavern-like place where numerous complicated looking seals were written on the floors of the cavern, and all five kages, alongside with a number of ninjas whom Yuri was quite well acquainted with by now were present – Killer Bee and his three students – Omoi, Samui and Karui; Kakashi, Haku, Gai, Neji, Hinata, Yamato and Sai; Temari, Kankuro and Baki; the two Seven Swordsmen of the Mist always with the Mizukage – Ao and Chojurou; and the Tsuchikage's two grandchildren – Akazuchi and Kurozuchi.

Three out of five kages were currently seated in a circle on the sealing circle, all of them forming the rat seal and pouring chakra into the seal itself, all sweating profusely. Hinata and Sai, as well as Kankuro, Chojurou and Kurozuchi were doing the same thing as well.

"What is going on?" Yuri asked, bewildered.

She had attained her seal mastery about a month or so after Jiraiya had died, and she knew what that seal is. Jiraiya had explained it to her when he was teaching her about seals. That seal is one of the world's most forbidden seals to perform – a time travel seal. To perform it successfully, you need the chakra stores of at least ten or so people, with at least three with kage-level chakra stores. There is also a high risk that all those pumping chakra into the seal will die.

Tsunade and the Mizukage, the only two kages not pumping chakra into the seal aside from Gaara turned towards her. "Yuri, you've seen the effects of the war outside, haven't you?" Tsunade stated, and Yuri nodded slowly. "Then you should know that we're losing. Badly. There is no way that we can win against Uchiha Madara and his army. And he hasn't even used the bijuus that he'd collected. If he uses it, we're all doomed."

Yuri narrowed her eyes. "I take it by the fact that all the top ninjas of our individual villages are here means that you have an idea or some sort of plan?" she questioned.

Mei Terumi stepped forwards just then, a serious look on the face of the female Mizukage. "Tsunade-san told me about it," she said. "She told me that you're an Uzumaki from your mother's side. All Uzumakis are seal masters as well as masters of swordplay – so much so that they can even make the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist look like amateurs using a sword for the first time. I am a half-blooded Uzumaki – from my mother's side." Yuri's eyes widened. "Your mother is my cousin. I knew who you are from the first moment when I laid eyes on you. You looked like your mother, only with your father's eyes." Mei then exchanged looks with Tsunade before turning back towards Yuri. "We only have one way to save this world from being doomed by Uchiha Madara's 'Moon Eye' plan. We have to send some of our ninjas back in time to prevent Madara from carrying out his insane plan! Ninjas who knew everything that had happened with Madara and this war, and can take steps to prevent it!"

Yuri's eyes widened. "No…!" she nearly whispered, looking from one face to the other. Now she understood why they've brought her here. "You can't! All those sustaining the seal _will _die! There is a reason, a _number _of reasons why that seal is one of the world's most forbidden seals!"

"Yuri! We don't have a choice here!" Tsunade snapped. "It isn't just our lives that are at stake here. The fate of the world rests on the outcome of this war alone! You are no idiot. You are almost on Shikamaru's level when it comes to war tactics and strategic warfare! You _know _that we have no chance of winning this war! We're losing. It's only a matter of time before all five shinobi nations fell to Uchiha Madara! Our only chance of preventing the world from falling into Uchiha Madara's grasp is to send you and a few others back in time – to a time before Uchiha Madara had started Akatsuki and had started collecting the bijuus, and to stop him! You are the only one who stands the best chance at besting Uchiha Madara! Yuri, please… Do this for us. Do not allow Madara's plan to come to fruition!"

Yuri looked from one to the other before she sighed. She knew that Tsunade speaks the truth. It is only a matter of time before they lose the war and their lives. The shinobi army is getting worn out and tired, whilst the enemy seems to have an unlimited number of un-dead ninjas at their disposal to control.

"I can't do this alone, and you know it," said Yuri at last, giving in.

"That's why we're coming with you," said Gaara solemnly, stepping up to her with Haku by his side. "We _cannot _fail in this mission. The fate of the world rests upon our shoulders! Especially now that even Kyuubi had fallen into Madara's hands." Haku nodded solemnly at Gaara's words.

"Alright, we're sending all of you back through time," said Mei quickly. "Listen, I drew up this seal as best as I could remember from my own sealing studies. I have _no idea _how far back it will take you. It could take you back to a few months before the war begun, a few years maybe, and it can even take you decades back! But no matter how far back it is, you three _must stop Madara at all costs!"_

"Mizukage-san, Hokage-san! We're both ready for you!" The boisterous Raikage shouted from his spot, nearly deafening everyone in the cavern. "The three of you! What the hell are you still waiting for? Get into the sealing circle! We don't have much time left!"

Sakura and Kakashi pushed Yuri, Gaara and Haku into the sealing circle just then, with all three of them standing in the middle of the seal array even as blue chakra tendrils started weaving around their bodies.

"Sakura…!" Yuri started, a pained look on her face.

Sakura smiled at her teammate. "Yuri, promise me! If you can't prevent Sasuke from going to Orochimaru…" She closed her eyes briefly before opening them again. "Kill him! Take it as a request from me! We can't let the war happen again!"

There was a grunt of pain just then, and Yuri's head snapped around only to see Kurozuchi and Chojurou suddenly fell over and stopped moving, and her eyes widened in horror. She can sense the last lingering traces of chakra escaping from their bodies and knew that they're dead. Her eyes then widened as Ao and Akazuchi stepped up wordlessly, and took their fallen comrades' places before forming the rat seal and started pumping chakra into the seal. She then realised what all those ninjas are here for. They're here to sustain the chakra network holding the seal if their comrades shall fall.

"No…! Why are all of you doing this?" Yuri cried out, and Gaara has to hold her back to prevent her from leaving the seal array. "Stop it!"

Hinata smiled at Yuri, a pained expression on her face. "B-Because…this is my way of the ninja…" she whispered. "Yuri…you are always the one protecting me…protecting Konoha… This time…it's our turn to protect you as we sent you back to prevent the war from happening! Protect Konoha, Yuri. Protect…the world…" Hinata then kneeled over just then, and Yuri's eyes widened.

"Hinata!"

Neji stepped up next to Hinata's body and moved his cousin's body carefully outside the seal array before taking her place.

Yamato stepped up as Sai fell over just then as well.

"Sakura!" Yuri turned towards her teammate.

Sakura smiled sadly at her teammate. "We'll do what we can here," she said. "So do what you can over there once you've arrived."

"Gaara-kun, take this!" Mei Terumi tossed a black-coloured scroll towards the red-haired Kazekage who caught it with ease. "Once the three of you have arrived in wherever you are, head straight for Konoha. Hand that scroll to the current Hokage – whoever they might be. In that scroll are the signatures of all five daimyos and kages, including your own, along with a letter explaining the circumstances. The Hokage of that time has no choice but to accept the truth of the matter, as _no one_ can forge the signatures and seals of all five daimyos and kages. They will help you in whichever way they can." She then turned towards Yuri and smiled at her. "I had never known you as a child, and that is the only thing that I've regretted. If you are really an Uzumaki, you will have the guts and strength of one as well. Do what you need to. But do not lose your way! Stop Madara!"

One of the guards guarding the cave came in just then, looking extremely frantic. "They're here!"

Sakura turned towards Tsunade who sighed and nodded. "They've found us at last." Tsunade muttered. "Go."

Sakura nodded before turning towards Yuri, with the other ninjas all readying their weapons. "Yuri, this might be the last time that I will ever speak to you. But if it is you, I believe that you can do this. If it is you…" She smiled at her teammate before turning and leaving the cavern, pulling on a pair of leather gloves as she did so.

"Yuri-san! Like the Sandaime had said, you have the 'Will of Fire' in you!" Lee grinned at Yuri, giving her his 'Good Guy Pose'. "You have that more than any of us! Stop Uchiha Madara."

He then turned and left after Sakura with Gai close behind him. Temari smiled at Yuri, readying her battle fan. "Yuri, take care of my brother for me," she said. She then left as well.

"Yo, Former Nine." Killer Bee spoke just then, readying his swords. "Do what you have to do. And I… I'll do what I have to do as well." He left the cavern as well.

"We should get to it as well," said Tsunade, directing this towards Mei who nodded. The two women then got into the seal array and started pumping chakra into the seal as well, gritting their teeth to bear the pain.

"Tsunade-sama!" "Mizukage-sama!"

Yuri and Haku both cried out at the same time.

Tsunade smiled at Yuri through tightly clenched teeth as she tried to bear with the pain. "Why…must the only time when you are respectful to me…be when I am…about to die…?" Tsunade gritted.

"Damn…it…!" Mei cursed for the first time in her life, pumping more chakra into the seal array. "GODDAMN IT! JUST ACTIVATE ALREADY!"

Like Mei's shout is the thing that activated the seal, there was a bright flash of light as Yuri felt a thin cloak of chakra weaving around her body and that of Gaara and Haku as well. Instinctively, both Gaara and Haku got close to her, and all three of them linked hands together.

"…good luck, Yuri."

Yuri could have sworn that she heard Hinata's whispered words just as a bright flash of light enveloped everything, and she then felt a strong pull tugging at her from the back of her naval, and then, she knew no more.

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_A/N: How is this for a start for this rewritten version? Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter, and please read and review!_


	2. Twenty Years in the Past

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

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**Chapter Two: Twenty Years in the Past**

_Sakura? What is it?_

_I've come to drag you out of your self-imposed solitude._

_Hmm._

_What do you mean 'hmm'? What has gotten into you?_

_Nothing._

_Don't give me that! Tsunade-sama told me what had happened. She said that Uchiha Madara extracted the Kyuubi from you?_

…_yeah. Konan… She was there. She saved me. I don't know what jutsu she uses, but it's rather similar to the one that Chiyo-baa-sama used to save Gaara after Akatsuki had extracted Shukaku from him. She just said two words. 'Live on'. Then…she collapsed. She __**died, **__all right? Now I've told you everything, so are you happy now?_

_Now, is that so difficult to say?_

_Hmm._

_When did you pull an Uchiha? Are you blaming yourself for her death? Just like how you've blamed yourself for not managing to get Sasuke back._

_If Uchiha Madara hadn't caught me, Konan wouldn't have—_

_Listen to yourself! Why do you always place everything on your own shoulders? Let us share some of the burden with you! Konan had been one of Jiraiya-sama's students too, isn't she? When Pein attacked the village, he gave his life because he believed in you. Konan did too. That's why she did what she did. Are you going to waste her sacrifice by wallowing in self-misery like how you did when Jiraiya-sama died? If it weren't because of Shikamaru, you would probably still be holed in your house. The village wants to see their hero. Do I have to drag you out of your house by force again?_

_I can't be a hero anymore. I—_

_Enough! I had enough of this… You and I both know that Sasuke can no longer be saved. Shikamaru made that extremely clear to me after Pein's attack. He will settle the Sasuke problem on his own…with or without our permission. Even you. Even you knew that Sasuke could no longer be saved. Nor does he even __**want **__to be saved._

_I…_

_I am sick of this. Yuri, why are you always like this? Why are you always trying to bite off more than you can chew? Why are you always trying to blame yourself more than anyone else?_

_I don't know…_

_Yuri, you aren't like this in the past. Can't you go and find yourself again? The person whom you used to be?_

**XXXXXX**

Yuri opened her eyes only to be greeted with blue skies and fluffy white clouds sailing past lazily. The birds were also chirping excitedly, and Yuri groaned before sitting up, holding onto the sides of her head to deal with the pain. She then looked around only to see tall trees and green grass. Yuri recognised where she is in; she is in the Senju Forest that surrounded Konoha. There wasn't a single sign of the destruction wrought by the Fourth Great Shinobi War anywhere. Had the seal worked?

Yuri felt more than heard someone shuffling beside her as she closed her eyes again, trying to keep the light out to lessen her headache. A pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders from behind whilst she felt someone unbuttoning her shirt before binding her abdomen with something – a piece of clean cloth or a roll of bandages perhaps?

The redhead then winced as a sharp stab of pain went through the injury on her abdomen, and she slowly cracked her eyes opened. Gaara was holding onto her by the shoulders from behind whilst Haku was tending to the injury on her abdomen carefully, binding the injury with a piece of cloth apparently torn from her sleeve.

"Are you awake, Yuri?" Haku questioned quietly.

Yuri can only stare. Not because the seal had successfully managed to send all three of them back, and she felt a pang of anger and sorrow go through her at that. If the seal had succeeded, then it meant that all those who have assisted in the seal had died. Well, to be fair, they're just going a lot sooner than the rest of them would, with the Fourth Great Shinobi War going the way that it is.

No, she is staring because Haku, and even Gaara, looks like how they looked like when she had first met them as a fresh-behind-the-ears genin. They both looked like they were only twelve. The injuries and wounds from the war were still on their clothes, and for some reason, the clothes that they were wearing had been 'sized down' to their new sizes.

Haku rolled her eyes. "You don't have to stare at us like that," she said, annoyed. "You want to take a look at yourself? You can't really move about much right now. Your injuries are the worst among us three." The ice maiden then waved her hand, and an ice mirror started forming in front of Yuri, reflecting her face back at her.

Yuri then blinked at the semi-familiar face that reflected back at her in the ice mirror. She still had the fiery red hair with golden highlights through it, but something was missing. Her hitai-ate was gone from the usual place around her neck. And now come to think of it, both Gaara and Haku didn't have theirs as well.

She looked like how she was back when she was twelve, only with slight differences. The whisker marks that she had as the Kyuubi jailor back then were gone from her cheeks as well, like how it had been when the Kyuubi had been extracted from her. Her blue eyes also had a slightly haunted look in it, the same as Gaara and Haku – like how all those who have seen the horrors of the war have been.

"W-What is going on?" Yuri almost stuttered.

Haku sighed and was about to explain when all three of them stiffened as they sensed the presences of several shinobis, and all reached for a weapon by instinct alone, only to curse to themselves when they realised that like with their hitai-ates, their kunai pouches are no longer on their person.

Though for some strange reason, their shinobi supply pouches are still attached to their waist. Gaara was glad for that, as the _extremely _important scroll that Mei Terumi had tossed to him before sending the three of them off was currently stuffed in that pouch. Without that scroll to explain their presences to the current Hokage in whichever timeline that they've arrived in, they won't be able to go about fulfilling their mission to prevent the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

Yuri cursed at that sudden movement that she made, and the sudden onslaught of pain because of the injury on her abdomen almost caused her to blank out, and only Gaara holding her up allow her to stay on her feet.

A squad of Leaf ANBUs dropped down from the trees overhead, all looking particularly intimidating with their ceramic white masks and ANBU issued swords in their hands.

"Who are the three of you?" The one whom all three presumed to be the ANBU captain stepped forward just then. "Where did you hail from?"

"Look, I understand why you are suspicious of us, but can you at least let a doctor tend to my friend here before you interrogate us?" Haku almost cried. "She can't afford to lose anymore blood—"

The voices around Yuri were growing fainter just then, and she was only vaguely aware of Haku and Gaara's panicked voices before everything turned black around her.

* * *

Yuri regained consciousness slowly only to be blissfully aware that she was currently lying on an extremely soft bed, a luxury that she hadn't had for _months _ever since the Fourth Great Shinobi War. A rather familiar white ceiling came into view as her vision slowly refocused itself, and she almost groaned. That is the ceiling of one of the hospital rooms in the Konoha Hospital. Her left arm felt stiff as well, almost like bandages were bound around the palm of her hand all the way to just below her elbow, and wires and tubes were currently stuck in her. Bandages were wound around her neck and her abdomen as well.

Muffled arguing voices that sounded clearer by the moment soon reached her ears, and Yuri recognised those voices as Gaara's and Haku's who both seem like they were standing around her bed. Yuri then opened her eyes only to be greeted by the back views of her two friends, who both seemed ready to go toe-to-toe with the ANBU squad from earlier.

"Like I'm telling you, I'll only tell this to your Hokage, so just bring him here already!" Gaara sounded frustrated.

"The Hokage doesn't have the time to deal with suspicious individuals like yourselves!" One of the ANBUs snapped. "You're better off arranging for an appointment with the head of the T&I instead!"

"No one can make us talk if we don't want to." Haku hissed dangerously.

"How dare you—"

The hospital room door swung opened just then, nearly hitting one of the ANBUs in the back, and an irritated looking brunette medic-nin who doesn't seem older than twelve or so was standing at the doorway, with a sheepish looking dark haired boy with orange goggles on his head next to her.

"What are you ANBUs arguing about?" The medic-nin snapped. "I can hear you all the way down the hallway! And didn't I or all the other medic-nins, and Tsunade-sama even, warn you against upsetting our patients? Their health comes first, and I don't care what you suspect them of!" The medic-nin flared, seeing one of the ANBUs about to say something.

"Nishimura, we don't even know where they have came from, and we only brought them into the village because they're all seriously injured." The ANBU captain stated calmly, not seemingly scared of the angry girl like all his other squad mates. "That is already a great risk in itself, especially during this time, and—"

Nishimura sighed. "I'll go and get Hokage-sama," she said, cutting the ANBU captain off. "I think that he's in a meeting with Minato-sensei and Jiraiya-sama, especially since our team had just returned from our border patrol mission."

"But Nishimura—"

"My shift at the hospital is over, so I can go and get them," said Nishimura, cutting them off once more. "Any other complaints?" None of the ANBUs spoke. "Good. Now, you lot can get out of the hospital! You're disturbing my patient's rest!" Nishimura shooed them all out of the hospital room, closing the door behind them, and she sighed. "Goodness me…" She then saw that Yuri is awake and smiled. "Oh, you're awake? That's good to see. Your injuries aren't as bad as it looks, and I managed to treat the worst of it. I'm Nishimura Rin. I'm a medic-nin of Konoha. And this is my teammate, Uchiha Obito."

Yuri, Gaara and Haku stiffened at the mention of the name 'Uchiha'. Just how far back were they sent? Yuri then coughed. "Rin…is it?" she questioned, and Rin nodded. "Do you mind if you get your Hokage here? I would walk to him myself, but I don't think that I can leave the bed right now."

"I wouldn't allow you to anyway." Rin stated firmly. "The three of you wait here. A pair of ANBUs is also posted outside this room. I'm sorry, but it's standard protocol. I'll get Hokage-sama here soon enough."

All three nodded before waiting as Rin and Obito left the room, and they then exchanged looks. Gaara was the first one to break the silence as he rubbed his temples. "Alright. Yuri, you are the only Leaf-nin among us three. What's going on here? How far back were we sent?"

Yuri had been looking out of the hospital window at that moment that overlooks the Hokage monument, and she then frowned when she saw only three heads on the monument instead of five. She then turned back to her friends. "Seems like the seal worked, and it took us further back than we even thought possible," she said. Yuri then sighed. "We're twenty years back in the past."

Silence.

Haku was the first one to break the silence, an incredulous look on her face. "Excuse me?"

Yuri gestured outside the window with her chin, and both Gaara and Haku peered out of the window only to see the Hokage monument. "There are only three heads on the monument." Haku realised.

Yuri nodded. "That's right," she said. "That means the Fourth hadn't been chosen to be Hokage yet. And this also means that we're nearly twenty years back in the past." She glanced at her friends. "And if you both remember the history of the shinobi nations in our history books, then you should know what this means."

Haku's face dawned in realisation. "The Third Great Shinobi War," she almost whispered. "Konoha is engaged in a war against Kumo, Suna and Iwa."

Gaara's eyes flashed dangerously at that, and he clenched his hands into fists. Yuri sighed and nodded, wincing as she pulled on her injuries, and bit on her lower lip to prevent herself from crying out. "That's right," she said, adjusting her position on the hospital bed carefully to prevent aggravating her injuries. "We entered Konoha at a bad time, it looks like. If things go the way that we want them to, we're probably going to be dragged into this war as well." Yuri glared at nothing in particular. "I hate war."

The hospital room door swung opened just then, and all conversation halted as the figures of the Sandaime Hokage (who looks younger), the future Yondaime Hokage as well as the Gama Sannin, Jiraiya appeared at the doorway. Neither one of them looked intimidating. Rather, they looked more curious, though there was a hint of suspicion about them, and who could blame them? Yuri had never known the Konoha of this time, but she is pretty sure that even Konoha would mistrust some unknown ninjas who simply appeared near Konoha in the middle of a war.

Sarutobi exchanged looks with the two men with him before he coughed and entered the hospital room, with Jiraiya closing the door behind him, and he even performed a simple sealing jutsu that blocks out all sound and also prevents anyone from shunshining into the room itself.

"Rin and Obito-kun told us about it," said Sarutobi, taking the initiative to initiate conversation. "They said that you wanted to see me?" Yuri, Gaara and Haku nodded simultaneously. He then narrowed his eyes slightly. "Mind introducing yourselves?"

Yuri, Gaara and Haku exchanged glances with each other, before Gaara raised one eyebrow, and Haku shrugged one shoulder and Yuri nodded slightly. A conversation was over between them within a few moments.

The three of them have been formed as a strike team during the Fourth Great Shinobi War, and they were the best at teamwork. Something that all the other shinobis found surprising, as they were all from different villages after all.

After Zabuza's death, Haku had found temporary amnesty with Konoha until Mei Terumi and her rebel group had decided to make the move to take over Mist, and when the red-haired woman had heard that Zabuza's apprentice was with Konoha, she had approached Haku. It wasn't that long after that when Haku went with Mei, and the next thing that anyone knew, Mei is the first female Mizukage in Kiri's history. The Fourth Great Shinobi War had then commenced not long after that.

Minato raised a confused eyebrow. "Names?" he asked pleasantly. "And don't worry, if you aren't spies from another village, we won't hold you prisoner or something. Unlike other villages, Konoha have more humane methods when dealing with prisoners."

Gaara sighed before answering. "Sabaku no Gaara," he grunted.

"Yukina Haku." Haku answered.

Sarutobi then turned towards Yuri. "And you?" he questioned, recognising Haku's and Gaara's last names almost immediately.

Sabaku is a particularly influential clan in Suna, especially since they were one of the founding clans of Sunagakure, and there were talk that the current influential and powerful Sandaime Kazekage is related to that clan. The Yukina clan on the other hand, is thought to have died out, especially first with the war and then the Bloodline Purge. They're a clan of one of Kiri's most powerful ice users, and back during the reign of the Sandaime Mizukage, majority of the Yukina clan have been ANBUs or even elite jounins.

Yuri was silent for several moments before glancing at Jiraiya, then at Minato, looking at him longer than necessary before turning towards the Hokage. "My name is Yuri," she said. "Uzumaki Yuri. But to be more specific, while official records stated that my name is Uzumaki Yuri, my real name would actually be _Namikaze Yuri."_

Minato gasped whilst Sarutobi's pipe looked dangerously close to falling out of his mouth, and Jiraiya opened and closed his mouth like a fish for several moments. The Hokage was the first one to regain his senses about him before looking from Minato to Yuri several times before he muttered, "Well, she does look like him."

"We were sent here," said Haku, gesturing towards herself and her friends. "By the kages of all five shinobi nations and even the daimyos." She then sighed. "I think you three had better sit down. This is going to be a long story."

Jiraiya slowly nodded before dragging out the visitors' chairs in the hospital room for himself, his sensei and his student before all three sat down on it. Gaara and Haku sat down at the edge of Yuri's bed, facing the three older ninjas.

"As you might have probably guessed by now, we're time travelers," said Gaara, pinching the bridge of his nose to lessen his headache. Here comes the hard part now, telling the entire story. "We came from a time in the future – nearly twenty years in the future." He glanced at a pale Namikaze Minato as well as a horrified looking Jiraiya who was gaping like a goldfish. "We…didn't have a choice. It was a decision made by the top brass of all five elemental nations – the kages, daimyos as well as the top jounins and ANBUs of every single village. It was the only way to prevent Uchiha Madara from dooming the entire world."

Sarutobi nearly swallowed his pipe in shock whilst Jiraiya and Minato paled even further. "U-Uchiha Madara?" Sarutobi nearly whispered, almost as white as the Hyuuga's eyes. "H-He's still alive?"

"Yes," said Yuri with a sigh. "We don't know how, but he's still alive. We're not really sure when it had all started, but we think that it had begun from during the time of the Third Great Shinobi War." The three older ninjas perked up. "Uchiha Madara formed an elite criminal organistion called the Akatsuki that made up of nine individuals that were S-class shinobis well-known in every nation. It took us the better part of three years to take the members of the organisation down until it was only left with two members – the real leader, Uchiha Madara, and a former Kusa-nin otherwise known as Zetsu."

"After the Five Kage Summit, it was then the start of the Fourth Great Shinobi War." Haku stated with a sigh, and the three older ninjas tensed. "For the first time in history, all five shinobi nations along with the samurai nation joined forces to form the 'Shinobi' army to face Akatsuki and to thwart Uchiha Madara's plans and his twisted ideals for the world. But right from the start, it was a losing battle."

"Uchiha Madara animated the dead – using souls of famous and highly skilled ninjas long dead from each nation to fight the ninjas of their former villages." Gaara grunted, and Sarutobi froze. "Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage of Konoha told me about it. She said that the Resurrection technique – Edo Tensei, was originally a kinjutsu developed by the Nidaime Hokage."

"That was the start of the nightmare." Yuri muttered, her eyes darkening as she remembered the horrors of the war. "We never had a chance right from the start. Those animated corpses could not be killed unless we remove the controlling talisman from them that is no easy task. Every animated corpse that we killed, they took ten of our men with them. The war lasted for six months, and at the end of it, the five daimyos, kages and even Mifune-sama of Tetsu no kuni finally had enough and decided to take drastic measures."

"The time travelling seal…" Minato almost whispered. "Kushina told me about it. The Uzumakis are the best seal masters in all the land. But performing that seal will…" He trailed off, his eyes wide with horror.

Gaara nodded solemnly. "All of us knew what we're getting ourselves into, but we decided that it's our only hope and that we didn't have any other choice. If the seal fails, then we'll just be going sooner than the rest of the world would. But if the seal succeeds, then we might have a chance to stop Uchiha Madara and his twisted plans for the world. All those performing the seal sacrificed their lives to send us back. All so that we might have the chance to prevent a dark and bleak future where there is _no _future at all!"

Minato was so pale that he looked close to fainting. "Five nations worth of shinobis and the samurai nation dead." He almost whispered. "This…Akatsuki and Uchiha Madara… Just how dangerous are they?"

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes. "We only have your word for this that what you've said is the truth," he stated. He was then taken aback when Gaara tossed a black coloured scroll at him that he caught with no problem. Sarutobi opened the scroll, noting that the scroll had some bloodstains on it, wondering what could have caused it, only noticing that it was sealed with a blood seal so that only the person whose blood was keyed into the seal could open it. The moment that he'd opened the scroll, both Minato and Jiraiya were at his sides, both reading over his shoulder.

_Hokage-sama of Konohagakure no sato,_

_I am not sure just how far back that the time travelling seal could send the three of them back, and I am also fairly sure that you would have been shocked by the arrivals of Namikaze Yuri of Konoha, the current ANBU commander of Konoha; Sabaku no Gaara, the current Godaime Kazekage of Suna; as well as Yukina Haku of Kiri, the head jounin of Kirigakure. The three of them will explain everything to you that has transpired in the shinobi nations of our time, since not even the five kages, daimyos and Mifune-sama of Tetsu no kuni knew everything that has happened._

_Among the three, Namikaze Yuri is the only one among the three who knew the most of what had happened. But knowing that child, she will leave out several important points that had happened during the war and the repeated battles with Akatsuki that had happened back during our time. _

_They are the best ninjas of the entire shinobi forces put together, and as such, they are the ones with the best chance at stopping Uchiha Madara. That is why we have sent them. But even with this important task upon their shoulders, they will not tell you everything about the future, as they knew the damages that it might cause to the balance of the world if they tried changing everything in the past. There is an Uzumaki among them after all, one of the last remaining ones in our timeline._

_As such, do not pester the three of them about the future. Let them do their work and also give them all the help that you can give as well as your full support. The three of them are, after all, from clans that are almost equivalent to royalty in their individual villages. But rest assured, you can trust them with your life._

_I regret to also inform you this, but the three of them have been sorely mistreated nearly all their lives, and maybe only some parts of it. They never had a childhood. Namikaze Yuri and Sabaku no Gaara are former Jinchuurikis of the tailed beasts – holding the Kyuubi and the Ichibi respectively. Yukina Haku was almost killed by her own father as a result of the ideals of the Bloodline Purge in Kiri, and she would have likely starved to death on the streets after that had it not been for the assistance of Momochi Zabuza, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist who had deserted Kiri after the Yondaime Mizukage had made the decision to 'purge' Kiri of all bloodline users._

_Those three are the __**best **__ninjas of the entire shinobi army that made up of all able-bodied ninjas of the five ninja nations. They are also the ones who have single-handedly wiped out the majority of the Akatsuki, an extremely dangerous criminal group that was made up of nine of the most powerful and dangerous ninjas in the shinobi world, with twisted ideals for the world, and the ways that they would go about to achieve it._

_The Fourth Great Shinobi War is a terrifying war, and even as I sat about penning this letter, we are slowly approaching the sixth month of the war, and our side is losing. Badly. There is no way that we could win, especially since we have been losing more men with each passing day, and the opposing side could just revive more ninjas to replace the ones that they've lost. It had came to such a state that we have more weapons and ammunition than ninjas needed to use them._

_The war was especially worse for Namikaze Yuri, the one that all Leaf-nins look towards for their strength, and their hero especially after she had single-handedly stopped Pein, one of the strongest of the Akatsuki after he had almost completely decimated the Leaf village. Her teammate, and her first friend, Uchiha Sasuke who had turned traitor three years prior to the start of the war snapped and joined up with Uchiha Madara when he learned the horrific truth behind one of the Leaf village's best kept secrets._

_I hope that you, Hokage-sama, would trust her. I'd trust her, Gaara and Haku with my own life. And I'm sure that all the other kages and daimyos would say the same thing too. Listen to them, as there is more to each of them than it seems. Yuri especially knows many things that are unknown to us. The three of them are under orders to answer any questions that you have about the past and about their own lives, but do not probe any further than that, as they will not reveal even the tiniest bit of information about what the future might hold to you apart from the entire affair with Akatsuki, the Fourth Great Shinobi War, and Uchiha Madara._

_Also, do not inquire any further about their personal lives than what they've told you. Regardless of what may happen, I wish for you to follow their suggestions without any question, especially Yuri's. Do not worry that she will override your authority, as she will never do that. And where Yuri goes and what she does, make no mistake, Gaara and Haku __**will **__follow her._

_Do __**not **__abuse that trust, Hokage-sama. They might be young, but they've seen the horrors of war, and more of the evil of mankind than anyone else. And they're definitely more skilled and resourceful than most ninjas twice their age._

_Take good care of the three of them, and allow them to have a second chance at life in this timeline. I love all three of them like one would a child or even a sibling, especially Yuri, and I am giving you a piece of my heart by sending the three of them to you. It will take the lives of four out of five kages as well as at least thirty or so shinobis with jounin-level chakra stores in order to perform that time travel seal. You might think that it isn't worth it, sacrificing the lives of over thirty people just to perform that seal, but at this point in time, we really don't have much of a choice._

_The five great ninja nations and the samurai nation are doomed either way. Even if this seal fails, we are all just going sooner than the rest of them._

_Please. Please assist them in any way that you can, and help them to protect the shinobi nations and to save the world from being destroyed by Uchiha Madara._

_Yours truly,_

_Senju Tsunade (Godaime Hokage)  
Mei Terumi (Godaime Mizukage)  
A (Yondaime Raikage)  
Sabaku no Gaara (Godaime Kazekage)  
Oonoki (Sandaime Tsuchikage)  
Mifune (Head Samurai of Tetsu no kuni)_

The signatures of the five kages and daimyos of the five nations then followed at the bottom of the letter, along with the signature of the daimyo of the Iron Country.

Sarutobi, Jiraiya and Minato read and re-read the letter as if hoping that they might have read wrong. The Fourth Great Shinobi War? Uchiha Madara? The five ninja nations AND the samurai nation doomed? This has got to be some kind of sick joke.

"This has got to be some kind of sick joke…" Jiraiya muttered, looking extremely ill.

Sarutobi looked from a pale-faced Minato to his shaking student before he rolled up the scroll that Gaara had given to him, and turned and smiled gently at the three young ninjas in front of him, all who were looking at him with a curious expression, not knowing just what is written in there. With all the revelations in the letter, now he understood why there are such haunted looks in their eyes. Eyes that ones as young as them should not have.

The Hokage then smiled at the three young ninjas tentatively. "Welcome to the past, Namikaze Yuri, Sabaku no Gaara and Yukina Haku," he said briskly. "Rest assured that I would do all that I can to help you to prevent the horrific events in the future from playing itself out."

"Wait, Sarutobi-sensei!" Jiraiya interrupted.

"What? Do you have a problem with this, Jiraiya?" Sarutobi frowned at his perverted student, and even Gaara frowned at him whilst Haku glared at the perverted self-proclaimed super pervert.

"N-No…! It's not what you think, so stop glaring at me like that!" Jiraiya almost whimpered at the venomous looks shot at him from Haku, Gaara, his sensei, and most surprisingly, his student who didn't wish to be separated from his twenty years into the future daughter. "We have more problems here than we think. Before worrying about all the future stuff, don't you think that we should worry about what we have to tell the rest of the village about where they have came from if they should ask? And obviously, we have to keep this knowledge about them being from the future to as few people as possible. Maybe we should just keep this to ourselves…"

Minato interrupted just then, and everyone turned towards him only to see that the blonde man was smiling gently at his daughter who smiled nervously back. "It's easy to come up with an excuse for Yuri," he said. "She _does _look like me after all, only with different coloured hair. And I'm not about to deny the fact that she is related to me." Minato smiled at Yuri before turning to face his sensei and the Hokage. "We can just tell everyone that she is my younger sister or something. My father died when I was still in the Academy, and my mother left the village after his death, unable to stay in the village any longer. Everyone knew that, and the only reason why I didn't go with her is because I didn't want to leave Konoha and Kushina." He blushed when he said this, and Jiraiya had a bit of a perverted smile on his face at that. "I can always tell everyone that my mother was pregnant when she had left. Her age fit the timeframe as well."

Sarutobi nodded slowly, puffing away on his pipe. "And what about Gaara-kun and Haku-chan?" he questioned.

"We can always say that we're friends of Yuri's when we were travelling together after her mother's death years ago, and that a retired ninja had trained us to be ninjas so that we can protect ourselves," said Haku with a shrug. During her time travelling with Zabuza, she had to often come up with cover stories for the both of them, and she had been well trained by now to come up with believable excuses and lies on the spot. "Yuri had assumed that her entire family is long dead until she heard stories of Minato-sama around the ninja nations because of his reputation as the 'Yellow Flash' and decided to come to Konoha to find her only remaining family. Both Gaara and myself came with her as she is our only family left."

"And Gaara-kun?" Jiraiya prompted. "He _looks _like a member of the Sabaku clan, and I'm pretty sure that he has the abilities of one. The Sandaime Kazekage probably wouldn't be happy to hear about this though." He muttered the last part.

"I have a cover story," said Yuri, who had been pretty silent all this while. She glanced at Gaara. "It might…undermine your reputation for awhile though, Gaara." Gaara raised a brow questioningly. "W-Well, everyone knew that the Sandaime Kazekage is a bit of a…womanizer, for lack of a better word. We can always say that Gaara is the byproduct of one of his…affairs with a civilian woman outside Kaze no kuni."

Everyone was silent as they thought about the effects of a story like that reaching Suna's ears, and everyone snorted when they imagined the expression on the Sandaime Kazekage's face once he hears that.

"Alright, those will be your cover stories then," said Sarutobi, trying to prevent his lips from twitching. "And Minato?" Minato blinked as Sarutobi turned towards him. "I'll assume that you wish for Yuri to live with you?" He stated more than questioned, and Minato nodded. The Hokage then turned towards Yuri, Gaara and Haku, and smiled. "Well, I already know the level and extent of your skills from the letter penned by the five kages, seeing as how the three of you held the topmost ninja ranks of your individual villages." He then sighed. "Looks like I'm going to have to include three jounin level ninjas into our ranks." He grumbled. "That means more paperwork!"

Yuri and Gaara exchanged amused looks whilst Haku looked like she's barely restraining herself to not laugh. Yuri then coughed. "Hokage-sama, why don't you just use kage bunshin to deal with the paperwork? Isn't that easier? I use that too to deal with my own paperwork."

Sarutobi froze before he slapped his forehead. "Why on earth didn't I think of that sooner?" he moaned. He then stood up. "Alright, we'll leave you to rest, since Tsunade might kill me if I don't. I'll also look for an available apartment for Gaara-kun and Haku-chan. You both will still be in here later, I suppose?" Gaara and Haku nodded. "Good. I'll bring your hitai-ates and jounin vests along later then, once I'm done with the ninja registrations for you three. Minato, Jiraiya, come on. Let's leave them to rest."

Both men obliged by getting up and following the Hokage out. Minato then turned and smiled at Yuri. "We'll talk some more later," he promised. "You still have to meet my team and girlfriend later on."

The door then closed shut, and Yuri, Gaara and Haku exchanged looks. "Well, that went well." Haku said at last. "Do you think that we could prevent Pein and Konan from joining Akatsuki?"

"No. We're a little too late for that," said Yuri with a quick shake of her head. "Yahiko was killed during the second year of the Third Great Shinobi War if I'm not mistaken." She frowned, counting on her fingers. "Yep. The second year. It is already the fifth year of the war. Yahiko's death was what led to Nagato and Konan joining Uchiha Madara and Akatsuki. We're a little late for them, but we can still make it for the others, particularly Sasori and Deidara."

"By the way…" Haku frowned at Yuri. "Yuri, why didn't you tell them about 'that'? You know, the ability that you've gained after Kyuubi was ripped from you."

Yuri's eyes darkened and she tightened her fingers around her blankets, gritting her teeth. "…I'm not telling them about it, Haku," she said at last. She met the concerned eyes of her friends. "It isn't something that I'm proud of. That devil's power… I can't control it fully yet, and you know it."

Gaara sighed. "They'll know sooner or later, and you know it," he said.

"We'll come to it when the time comes," said Yuri stubbornly. She then looked out of the window, looking down at the streets of busy Konoha people. "Before Itachi had died, he told me something once. 'When people die, they go to Hell'." She glanced at her friends. "I wonder…if I die, where would I go? Will I see everyone in wherever that I would go?" She tightened her hands into fists. "Everyone…"

_Shikamaru, why did you do such a thing?_

_A…fool's errand it might be, Uchiha. But better to be a fool, than to live your life knowing nothing at all. Even if I die, I'm taking as many of you as I could as I go down!_

…_Yuri…sorry… I…couldn't keep our promise…_

_Shikamaru…you idiot…_

_Heh…you…are so troublesome… Hey, Yuri. Was…I of some help…in the end?_

_You did great._

_That's…good to hear. I'm…leaving Konoha and Kurenai-sensei…to you… I…talk all big…but in the end…I still needed to depend on you… I'm…sorry…_

_Don't be. You did great._

_Is…this Death? If Death is this peaceful…then I…am no longer afraid…_

…_you're dead, Uchiha Sasuke._

_Dead? __**I am already dead!**_

"Five nations worth of shinobis and the samurai nation dead." Gaara stated quietly at last. "We have a chance to stop all that from happening. And maybe…we could even save our younger counterparts from suffering what we did. I'll kill the Sandaime Kazekage!"

"Do you think that we can do it?" Haku asked quietly. "Can we even do this?"

"It isn't a matter of 'what if' or 'if we could', Haku," said Yuri quietly. "We _have _to. If we fail here as well, there won't be a future left to protect."

Gaara and Haku nodded before all three looked out of the window without saying anything for several moments. Yuri tightened her hands into fists. "It's show time, Uchiha Madara," she muttered. "We're coming for you."


	3. Meeting Family

I've changed the name to Yuri as I've gotten some complaints about the name, and that it doesn't sound Japanese.

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing. No Kyuubi sealed in Yuri.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Three: Meeting Family**

Namikaze Yuri leaned casually against the doorway of the Namikaze mansion lazily, with her arms crossed over her chest as she followed the forms of a _very frightened _future Yondaime run around his house with his 'demon' girlfriend chasing after him with a kunai in one hand.

Yuri sighed as she tilted her head to one side as a vase went whizzing past her head, missing her by mere inches.

She definitely isn't expecting _this _when the medic-nins have finally let her out of the hospital after three whole days, and Minato had taken her back with him to his house where his girlfriend of about three years had been staying with him. Gaara and Haku have both found an apartment in the ninja residential district of Konoha, and the Sandaime Hokage have also listed their ranks as jounins, and had placed the three of them as teammates.

However, the moment that Yuri had stepped in through the doors of the mansion after having just been released from the hospital, it was to see a beaming Uzumaki Kushina who had greeted her boyfriend before noticing her standing next to Minato. And apparently, Kushina had a very wild imagination, as she had jumped to the conclusion that Yuri is Minato's illegitimate daughter when most people would have assumed that Yuri is just a friend of Minato's, a new student perhaps.

Yuri sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day as a kunai whizzed past her head, rendering itself stuck in the doorway just above her head. Was she really like this when she is younger? Scratch that line of thought. Was her imagination ever this wild?

Yuri cracked one eye opened only to see Minato still running around, screaming things like 'just calm down and let me explain' and Kushina's 'you had a daughter, and you never told me? I only learnt about it when I returned after that mission to Iwa!' Yuri then blinked. So that explains why Kushina hadn't learnt of her existence when nearly the _entire village _has.

The redhead then sighed as she straightened herself up and starting loosening the bandages wrapped around her left forearm, revealing several strange black looking tattoos in the forms of strange lines and patterns. Most people would have assumed them to be tattoos, but seal masters would have recognised them as seals immediately.

After Yuri had attained her seal mastery, she had those seals tattooed on her person. Each 'line' or 'pattern' of those tattoos is actually a representation of a single seal. Among those seals included storage seals for some of her rarely used weapons, but were kept there in case of emergency uses; fuuin jutsus for some of her favourite techniques; and also summon seals for her summons – battle wolves.

After Jiraiya had passed on, it hurts Yuri too much to continue using the toad contract. Gamakichi, Gamabunta and Fukasaku could all see just how much it hurts Yuri, and with a heavy heart, Gamabunta had actually suggested for her to let go of the toad contract, as using it reminds her so much of Jiraiya. Later, Kakashi who had heard of this from Tsunade, had then given her the contract to the wolves' summons that his late father had used, and she had been using them as her summons ever since.

Sighing again for what seemed like the hundredth time, Yuri focused some chakra into a particular seal on her forearm, and with a light 'poof', a strange-looking black bracelet-like object appeared – clasped around her left wrist.

Yuri then focused some chakra before she made some quick movements with her left hand, and the next moment, all sounds of fighting came to a stop as both Minato and Kushina were suspended in mid-air, thin, almost invisible wire wrapped around their limbs. Identical looks of surprise and shock were on both their faces, as distracted or not, the two of them are too good a ninja to be taken by surprise by surprise attacks like that, especially if the perpetrator is standing barely ten steps away from them all along.

'_I didn't even sense her move! Scratch that, I never sensed her presence at all!' _Minato thought, shocked, as he looked at his 'sister'. _'I can see why she had the trust of all five kages, and why she is the ANBU commander at such a young age.'_

'_I never even sensed it coming!' _Kushina thought, bewildered, as she looked at Minato's 'daughter'. _'Some sensor type ninja I am. Couldn't even sense a __**twelve year old's**__ movements. Wait.' _Kushina frowned. _'I can't even sense her chakra when she is this close to me! It's like she isn't even there!'_

There is a very good reason why Kushina isn't able to sense Yuri's chakra at all.

During the Fourth Great Shinobi War, the strike team that made up of Yuri, Gaara and Haku is usually the first one sent against the enemy. But their role is to take down as many numbers as they could without letting the enemy sense their presence. As a result, they were usually partnered with Team Gai whose main role is to create as much havoc as possible to distract the enemy.

And as a member of the strike team, Yuri had long been trained to compress her chakra until it is almost like she isn't even there. That is a trick that all ANBUs are trained to use, and she had been in ANBU for close to a year before the war had broken out. The ANBU commander had then reluctantly surrendered his best ANBU combat specialist to the Jounin commander – one Nara Shikaku, as they need her and her strategist skills alongside Nara Shikamaru on the frontlines.

After such a long time, it had been almost an unconscious reaction for Yuri to compress her chakra completely until she could almost pass off as a ghost of some sort. Gaara and Haku were the same as her as well.

"Now that I have both your attention…" Yuri muttered irritably, still standing by the doorway, clenching her left hand in a loose fist near the side of her head. "We can get all the explanations out of the way." She looked at Kushina. "First of all, I _am not _his illegitimate daughter! I mean, yes, technically, I _am _his daughter—" Kushina begun to furiously struggle against the wires bounding her, attempting to strangle Minato. "—his and yours, actually… From nearly twenty years in the future, Uzumaki Kushina. First princess of the kingdom of Whirlpool."

_That _stopped Kushina's struggle at once, and she turned pale, turning so fast to face Yuri that she almost cricked her neck. "…what?"

Yuri sighed. "Must I repeat myself?" she muttered sarcastically. "I think you heard me right the first time, unless you are a little hard of hearing. I am your daughter from nearly twenty years in the future. 'Nii-san' can explain everything to you later on. And this is the best method that I can think of to stop both of you long enough for you to listen to me before you kill Konoha's best jounin." Minato grinned sheepishly. "Like I said, I am your daughter, going to be born…" Yuri took a look at the calendar hanging on the wall. "…nearly a year from now. And to prove that I'm not lying, and that you're my mother, here is everything that I knew: you are Uzumaki Kushina, the last surviving member of the kingdom of Whirlpool, and their First Princess. You are sent here over a decade ago to Konoha as a vessel to contain the Kyuubi no Youko when the previous vessel, Uzumaki Mito-hime neared the end of her life. You were kidnapped by Kumo as a child because of your 'special chakra', and my idiot 'brother' here was the one to rescue you because you left a trail behind with strands of your red hair. That enough for you, Kushina-san? Or should I say, 'kaa-san'?" Yuri smiled a small bittersweet smile before she released the wires bounding them, and dismissed the wire back into her storage seal on her left forearm.

Kushina was shocked as she stared at Yuri like seeing her for the first time. Everything that Yuri knew was supposed to be a tightly guarded secret – known only to the Hokage and herself. Even the fact that she's the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi is a closely guarded secret, and Minato had only learned of it when they have both turned seventeen when they have started going out. That is probably what had gotten him interested in seals in the first place. As Kushina glanced at the seals on Yuri's left forearm as she wrapped the bandages around it slowly, she was finally convinced.

The Uzumakis have always been the world's foremost seal masters and sword masters. It is something like a bloodline for them, and they could always learn seals easier and faster than anyone else, and coupled that with their large chakra reserves… Very few people could actually best them in combat.

"Minato, you have some explaining to do later on." Kushina warned, and Minato nodded and grinned sheepishly. The redhead then turned towards Yuri with a smile. "So you are the 'sister' that I've been hearing so much about on the streets?" Yuri nodded. Kushina then smiled a motherly smile at her. "Will it be 'nii-san' and 'nee-san' in public, and 'kaa-san' and 'tou-san' in private?" She teased.

A muscle in Yuri's cheek twitched. "If you wished it to be," she said, fighting the urge to smile. Come to think of it, when is the last time that she had smiled? Kiba had joked a long time ago that she looks almost like a female version of Sasuke now, looking as if she doesn't know how to crack a smile to save her life.

"Why are both of you so late back anyway? It's almost sunset." Kushina gestured towards the window as she helped to pick up the mess lying around because of their 'chase' from earlier.

Minato grumbled something beneath his breath. "We went to a council meeting earlier to introduce Yuri as my sister, and to introduce her, Gaara-kun and Haku-chan as our newest jounins. And Danzo started on his ever eternal broken record song of 'into Root program'."

_Crack._

Yuri winced inwardly as she saw that the armrest of the chair that Kushina is holding onto in order to place said chair back into it's original place had cracked beneath the pressure that Kushina is applying.

"I don't think anyone will miss the old war hawk if I kill him." Kushina muttered. "Let me go and get my sword."

"Come on, sweetheart, calm down. He didn't get them. The Third almost blew a fuse when Danzo suggested that, and Koharu and Homura agreed with him." Minato tried too calm his girlfriend down, and a twitch of his eye told Yuri that Minato wasn't happy with those three old fossils as well. "Fortunately, the other clan heads agreed with mine and the Third's decision. Well, sans for Fugaku-teme, that is."

Yuri's eye twitched at that. Sasuke's father?

So that man from earlier is her old murdering teammate's father. Yuri had been hoping that the Uchiha clan could still be saved from their fate, but it looks like she is too positive on that.

"Well, I'll show you your room as Kushina cooks the dinner for tonight," said Minato as he turned towards Yuri with a charming smile. "As for the matter of clothes, I think Rin was saying something about dragging you and your two friends shopping tomorrow. So expect her to drop by tomorrow."

Yuri groaned before nodding and following Minato up the stairs of the mansion as Kushina laughed all the way to the kitchen at the sight of Yuri's face upon the mere mention of a shopping trip.

Minato turned right from the staircase on the second level of the mansion the moment that he had arrived, and stopped in front of the door of the second room past the staircase. "The third floor has the library and the room where I usually used to practice my sealing." Minato explained. "The room beside yours is mine and Kushina's." A faint blush appeared on his face. "All the other rooms are actually guest rooms, and this will be your room." He opened the oak door and turned on the lights, allowing light to flood into the room immediately.

The walls of the room were painted a light blue colour, with glow-in-the-dark stars stuck on the ceiling. There was even a small balcony attached to the room, with a glass sliding door separating the room from the balcony. The windows of the room have glass panes in it as well, with light blue curtains decorating the windows. There was even a wardrobe in the room, along with a dresser in a corner. A wooden desk stood in another corner, with a table-light on it. A bed with white covers and a peach-coloured blanket that looked _so _inviting was set against the wall in the back of the room, with a bedside table with a lamp on it next to the bed. The entire room was also carpeted with a peach coloured carpet.

Yuri turned towards Minato who was looking at her, a nervous look on his face. "Do you like it?" he asked nervously. "I had it prepared during the past two days with Rin and Obito's help when you were still in the hospital, and your two friends refused to leave your side unless it is to eat, and when they were meeting that housing agent that the Third had recommended to them. Haku-chan said that you like looking at the stars at night, and Gaara-kun said that you don't like girly stuff and hates pink with a passion, so I did what I could from what little information that I knew about you." The man blushed lightly, as if embarrassed that he knew so little from his 'twenty years in the future daughter'.

Yuri gave him a small rare smile. A real one, not those fake ones that she used to give as a child. "It is the best room that I ever saw," she said, and she meant it. The size of this room alone is easily the size of her old apartment.

Minato went pink at this compliment.

**XXXXXX**

Dinner that night was a different affair for Yuri, and also a very new experience.

She had always had dinner alone, or with Iruka-sensei at Ichiraku's during those few occasions. Then occasionally with team seven during her genin days after a late training session. When the war had broken out, mealtimes were spent with her comrades, eating either tasteless ration bars or just tins of food that almost tasted just as bad.

But the dinner that night is a different affair. There were lots of laughter, especially when Kushina told Yuri embarrassing tales about their genin days, and even during their Academy days when the fiery redhead had beaten up all the boys when they have called her by that horrible nickname.

Yuri had headed for her shower after that, borrowing a set of clothes from Kushina that were at least two to three sizes too large for her, as Yuri is now twelve years old again after all. The redhead was careful not to let water touch her wounds however. Nishimura Rin had been the medic-nin in charge of her medical care whilst at the hospital, and she also happens to be her 'brother's' student. The fiery brunette would throw a fit if she had to go back to the hospital the next day for a re-dressing because she got her bandages wet.

With Kyuubi now gone from her gut, she gets hurt and sick like everyone else, and heals at the same rate as everyone else. It is a con for not being a Jinchuuriki any longer, but Yuri couldn't be happier about that. She knew for a fact that Gaara is after he had Shukaku ripped from his gut back then. At last, they could be 'normal' like everyone else.

With a sigh, Yuri sat down at the edge of her bed, towelling her hair dry with a soft fluffy white towel. Another thing here that she never had a chance to experience back in her original timeline.

She never had the chance to take a hot bath in the past, as the apartment that she lives in is located in one of the poorer districts of Konoha where hot water is close to non-existent there. Also, the towel that she had then could pass off as a rag quite easily because of all the dirt and grime on it that simply refuses to come out, no matter how much she had scrubbed and washed, and not to mention the fact that there are numerous holes in it that looks as if a number of rats had gnawed their way through.

With a sigh, Yuri focused some chakra into one of the seals on her forearm, and with a light 'poof', two items popped into existence beside her. One is a scroll that looks as if it had been read numerous times; the other is a maroon coloured photo album that Yuri had taken with her when the war had first broken out – it being one of the few precious items that she had left with her.

Yuri reached for the scroll first, unrolling it to reveal that it is in actual fact, a letter. She had already read it so many times that she could almost recite it in her sleep, but still, Yuri scanned her eyes down the contents of the letter.

'_Yuri,_

_By the time that you've read this, I will be gone._

_I know that you had never believed that I would commit the Uchiha massacre for no reason at all, and you had never believed the Third and even Sasuke when they have both told you that I committed the massacre to 'test my power'._

_I owe it to you at least this much to know the truth of why I'd done such a thing when my foolish little brother had caused you so much pain because of me and what I've done. You must have known about the village's history, and that Konoha was built with the efforts of two clans – the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan._

_Originally, Fire Country had lots of clans, but they were all divided. The most prominent of these conflicts were the Uchiha and the Senju clans. But after decades of fighting and battles, all of them were tired. Eventually, they decided on an alliance and decided to unite all the clans of Fire Country._

_At that time, the only one who disagreed with the alliance was Uchiha Madara, the founder of the Uchiha clan._

_But he had no other choice but to abide by his clan's wishes, and thus, Konoha was founded. Some things happened not long after that, and Uchiha Madara revolted against the first Hokage, and thus, left the village. He returned not long after that, with the Kyuubi no Youko in tow. He had the same ability as the Shodaime – he had the ability to control the bijuus, and using that ability, he battled the first Hokage, Senju Hashirama at what we now knew as the Valley of the End – the very same place where you and my brother had your final battle._

_It was a fierce battle, and a very close one, as Madara had the power of the greatest of the tailed beasts by his side. But the Shodaime was assisted in that battle by his wife, Uzumaki Mito. Your mother is an Uzumaki after all. You should know this. All Uzumakis are seal masters. They are the world's greatest seal masters. In order to save her husband, Mito-hime sealed the Kyuubi into herself, and without the Kyuubi's powers, Madara fell against the Shodaime, but not before killing him._

_No one knew what had happened to Uchiha Madara later on, as no one ever found his body. But Uchiha Madara's revolt against Konoha is what caused the entire village of Konoha, especially the Senju supporters, to look at the Uchihas with suspicious eyes. Finally, the entire clan could take it no more, and chose to relegate themselves to a corner of the village just so that they can avoid all those glares and whispers._

_The Shodaime's brother, Senju Tobirama became the next Hokage. Angered and distraught by his brother's death, Senju Tobirama stripped the Uchiha clan of all rights and power in the Leaf Council and the village so that they have little to no ruling power left in the council. The Uchiha clan are well liked by the civilians because of their role as the police force, but the shinobi clans doesn't like them._

_And I'm sure that you had first hand experience of this by now; shinobis forgive, but they do not forget. They remember their grudges. For eternity._

_The Uchiha clan suffered through all this ever since the time of Uchiha Madara. Finally, my father could take it no more, and planned a revolt – a coup d'état. He believed the Uchiha clan to be superior to everyone else, and that it is our right to rule the village. I had been an ANBU captain by then, and when I caught wind of the stirrings of the clan, I reported it to the Hokage. The Hokage and his two advisors then planted a spy in the Uchiha clan – me._

_When news of the coup d'état reached the ears of the Hokage, he issued me a mission impossible task – massacre the entire clan. I knew that I wouldn't be able to do this alone. Thus, I contacted Uchiha Madara._

_You knew what happened after that._

_I'm sorry for everything that Sasuke had put you through. But don't get mistaken. It may have been my duty to massacre the clan, but I had never regretted it. They are getting too rebellious and too arrogant for my liking. But when the time came, I couldn't bring myself to kill Sasuke. _

_I made the Third promise after that not to let anyone know the truth about the massacre. The only ones who do are the ones who have ordered this mission – the Fire daimyo, the Third, his two advisors, and council member Shimura Danzo. Be careful of him, Yuri. He had always wanted you, and it is only thanks to the Third that you are not within his clutches right now. _

_You and Sasuke never had to grow up the way that I did. I grew up during the Third Great Shinobi War, and I saw the horrors and the losses of shinobis during that period of time. The graveyard of Konoha was full as a result of all those deaths. Several shinobis actually came back as dog tags during that time._

_I know what war is, and I didn't want either you or Sasuke to grow up the way that I did. I swore an oath to Hokage-sama when he assigned me as your ANBU protector when you were young. I swore to protect you, and to keep you safe from any and all threats. I will fulfil that oath, even if I have to die doing so._

_That's why I am in Akatsuki now. It is to protect you. If possible, I do not want Sasuke to know the truth. But knowing Uchiha Madara, he is bound to tell Sasuke the truth to manipulate him. My brother is weak, Yuri. He is bound to give into his hatred and anger, and sought to bring harm to the Leaf village. When that day comes, Yuri, I ask you, as Sasuke's brother, as __**your **__brother, as a fellow ninja from the same village, to slay my own brother with your own hands. Stop him. _

_I don't want to see either of you grow up in a war, but even I knew that I am being too idealistic. There are times when I don't even know whether I'm alive and dreaming, or dead and remembering. A little of both, I suppose._

_But I do know one thing: there is a game out there, and the stakes are high. The guy who runs it figures the averages out all day long and all night long. Once in awhile, he lets you steal a pot. But if you stay in the game long enough, you've got to lose. And once you've lost, there is no way back. No way at all._

_As a last request. If Sasuke ever strays off the path that he is supposed to take, stop him, Yuri. Even if you have to kill him. This will be the only thing that I'll ever ask of you, Yuri. Forgive me for my selfishness. If we ever meet again in the next life, I'll do all that I can to make it up to you._

_-Itachi_

Yuri closed her eyes as she rolled the scroll back up and placed it within the drawer of her bedside table. She then opened the photo album on her lap, and opened it to the first page where there is a photo of a five-year-old version of herself being carried by a rather stoic looking Uchiha Itachi.

That is the only photo of Itachi that she has, and for obvious reasons, she had never told Sasuke throughout all their days as genin teammates that she had known his brother personally. There is no telling what he might do.

Yuri closed her eyes briefly. _'Your entire clan are such bastards, Itachi-nii. Just how the hell did you ever put up with them?'_

Yuri then flipped the pages of her photo album, turning over photos during her Academy days, during her birthday celebrations with the Ichirakus, the Hokage and Iruka-sensei, during that one time when she was five years old, and the Hokage had allowed her to wear his hat for a day, and photos of her and Hinata, flipping over the pages until…

Yuri stopped as she found the page that she wanted; during the start of her genin days. The first photo that started the page was a photo of her old genin team. Sasuke was frowning at the camera, she smiled a small smile, Sakura was smiling brightly in between them, and Kakashi-sensei was standing behind them with his usual eye-smile, his hands ruffling the hair of herself and Sasuke.

Yuri stared at the frowning figure of Sasuke for a long time. She tried and failed to see just what had caused Sasuke to commit such atrocious acts, and became labelled as the worst criminal that had ever came from Konoha after the incident caused at the Five Kage Summit, an even worse criminal than Orochimaru, and being labelled as the second coming of Uchiha Madara.

* * *

_It had been one of the first battles during the Fourth Great Shinobi War. And already, Yuri was starting to wish that she was dead as she clashed blades again and again with Sasuke._

"_Sasuke, why are you doing this?" Yuri shouted, parrying the Kusanagi with her own blade – a kodachi that had been a gift from Jiraiya. "This war…is __**this **__something that you wanted?"_

"_Shut up! And stay out of this!" Sasuke hissed, his eyes bleeding into the blood red of the Sharingan. "Where are they? The two elders! Where the fuck are they? Where are you hiding them?"_

_Yuri narrowed her eyes at Sasuke. _'I was right. He is after them after all. Itachi-nii…must I really do this? Do you really want me to do this?' _"I'm afraid that I can't let you know. Why do you even want them dead in the first place?"_

"_It's none of your business!"_

_Yuri narrowed her eyes. _'Have you really lost yourself to darkness, Sasuke?' _"I knew your brother." Sasuke paused in his tracks, narrowing his eyes. "He was my guard when I was little. He raised me, taught me to read and write, taught me the basic necessities of life… When the Hokage told me that he had became a criminal, I didn't believe him. Until now, I still didn't. Until I received a letter from him a week before his death, telling me everything. Now I understood what he had meant from our last encounter." Sasuke glared at Yuri, but the redhead continued as if Sasuke hadn't done anything. "He asked me if I could truly bring myself to kill you. He asked me how would I choose to save you. He asked me that if you became a criminal in Konoha's eyes, what would I do? He asked me if there ever came a day when I would have to choose between you and Konoha…between you, my best friend, and Konoha, my village, what would I do? I told him that I wouldn't choose either. That I would choose to save both. He smiled then, and I didn't understand why." _

_There was a light clang of metal as Yuri forced Kusanagi out of Sasuke's hands, and turned to glare at him. "You said that I wouldn't understand. I think I understand a great deal, Sasuke. I spent more time with Itachi than you ever knew. I know your brother better than you think. Why do you think Itachi did what he did? Why do you think he made the decision that he did? For what did he die for? For __**whom **__did he die for? Eh? Answer me, Sasuke!"_

"_Shut up!" Sasuke roared, his eyes spinning into the Mangekyou Sharingan. "Just shut up! You don't understand anything!"_

"_I understand better than you think!" Yuri snapped back. "Itachi told me everything. He told me the truth. He begged me in that letter." Sasuke paused in his tracks. "Itachi __**begged **__me. He told me that if there ever comes a day when you learnt the truth, and you turned traitor to Konoha, for me to finish the job that he didn't manage to finish on that fateful day nearly nine years ago! I am an ANBU now too. I know what Konoha has to do in order to keep her people safe. I am one of those people who have to dirty our hands in order to keep that peace and to protect our village! Itachi was one of those too! Who do you think he did everything, sacrificed everything for? For you. For me. For the village. He is a true hero! And what you're doing now… You're only disgracing his memory! He did everything that he did to __**prevent **__a war from breaking out. And what did you do but actually __**start **__one?"_

_Yuri shook her head. "Do not make assumptions on what you saw and thought that you knew back when we were kids, Sasuke," she said. "I know more than you think, and I have seen Konoha at her worst. I know how cruel people can be. I had to be cruel too. Often, I had to kill people who merely knew or saw something that they shouldn't, or they have appeared at the wrong place at the wrong time, or were even related to the wrong person. They didn't have a choice. But then again, I didn't too. But you did. You had a choice. And you threw it all away. And look what it brought you."_

"_Enough! I don't want to listen anymore!" Sasuke screamed, covering his ears with both his hands. "I had enough! I had enough of being played for like a puppet! First Konoha. Then Madara. Even my brother… Just what did he wrong, huh? Answer me, Yuri! What sins had he committed? Did he deserve everything that had happened to him? You said that you knew Itachi. But do you __**truly **__know him?"_

_Yuri was silent._

_A smirk curled at Sasuke's lips. "You can't answer me, can you?" he sneered. "You're just like Itachi. Just like Kakashi. Just like Sakura. Just like your __**father. **__None of you can bring yourself to kill your own hearts and to kill me. To execute me as a criminal. You had plenty of chances to do that, but you didn't. But you won't have a choice in this war, Yuri. If you truly want to protect Konoha, you have to kill me. But I wonder…" Sasuke smirked. "I wonder if you can truly bring yourself to do it. To kill me?"_

_Yuri blinked as Sasuke covered her eyes with his hand, focusing chakra into his hand before she started losing herself to unconsciousness, and darkness slowly started overcoming her. "We were all just puppets in a game of chess after all." Sasuke whispered as he lowered her gently to the ground. "Maybe in another different life, another different time, things would have been different. But if I ever come back alive, I promise… Maybe next time…"_

"…_next time…"_

'…_Sasuke…'_

* * *

'_But there isn't a 'next time'.' _Yuri thought, tracing the image of Sasuke with her fingertips. _'Sasuke's mind snapped not long after that that he'd actually attack anyone who is a Leaf-nin, regardless of who they might be.' _She closed the photo album with a light snap. _'Do I really have to kill him this time?'_

_If you can't prevent Sasuke from going to Orochimaru, promise me! Kill him. We can't let the war happen again!_

_But if it is you, I believe that you can do this. If it is you…_

Yuri closed her eyes briefly. _'I will, Sakura,' _she thought, opening her eyes again. _'This time, I won't make the same mistake that I did. Because of my foolishness in believing in him… Because I __**wanted **__to believe that he could still be saved, I caused several of our comrades to die. Not anymore. If Sasuke turns traitor again, I won't hesitate this time. I'll kill him.' _


	4. When You're Gone

I'm back! And as with my author's note, Yuri and co. are **twelve years old **in this story, the **Kyuubi isn't sealed **in Yuri, she had **red hair**, and yes, she is posing as **Minato's sister. **This particular paragraph will be included in every single chapter from now on, so you guys can't yell at me for the _minor details _that I've already mentioned in _earlier chapters._

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing. No Kyuubi sealed in Yuri.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Four: When You're Gone**

Six months…

That is how long that Yuri, Gaara and Haku have been in Konoha ever since their 'arrival' and have been made jounins. Like Minato, Yuri has been enlisted as a special jounin specialising in fuuinjutsu, whilst both Gaara and Haku have been enlisted as special jounins as well, with no known specialisation.

Their rank is actually better than what Yuri could hope for, as she is actually half expecting for the Hokage to actually rank them as chuunins, what with their sudden appearances and all, and the fact that they have actually appeared here during wartime.

But on the other hand, it is probably _precisely _the fact that they have arrived in the middle of a war that the Hokage had listed them as special jounins, as they need every available ninja out on the battlefield, and the fact that the three of them have been one of the leaders of the Shinobi army during the Fourth Great Shinobi War helps as well.

Yuri had been the tactician of their three-man team, with Gaara being the long ranged specialist, with Haku being the mid-ranged, also being their team's medic-nin. They had made up one of the best combat teams during the Fourth Great Shinobi War, and the teams that were usually paired with them rarely lose any members.

Yuri, Haku and Gaara have also met Minato's team seven. Haku and Rin have gotten on like a house on fire upon their first 'official' meeting that is _not _an order by the Hokage or just some messenger duty. Both girls have the same kind heart and disposition, and are also medic-nins, and are already making fast friends, though Haku has to be the one to drag Yuri into conversations.

The ice maiden knew from personal experience that you have to literally twist Yuri's arm before she'll enter into activities that requires her to socialise with others. Haku blamed the war and Sasuke for that.

Obito, on the other hand, Gaara privately thought to himself that he reminded him of Yuri when she was a kid. Thankfully, the redhead had mellowed out as she grew up, soon turning out into the legendary ninja that is known to nearly every single nation by the time that the Fourth Great Shinobi War had begun.

Kakashi on the other hand…

Both Gaara and Haku have never seen Yuri blowing her top before, but this younger version of her old jounin instructor, and also the younger version of the ninja that Gaara had respected as a teenager is _soooo _arrogant that it often took the combined efforts of both Haku and Gaara to prevent Yuri from killing the silver haired pre-teen on the spot. He is almost like an advanced version of Sasuke when he was a genin.

So far, Yuri, Haku and Gaara, being nicknamed 'Team Ryuu' by the vast population of Konoha ninjas that seemed to stuck, had never been on a mission together with team seven yet. Most of their missions that the Hokage had sent them on are mostly demolition missions or assassinations, with the Hokage actually setting them upon the task of the mission reports from Konoha's various spies occasionally.

It has only been six months, but anyone stepping into the apartment that Haku and Gaara shared which also served as a makeshift office would think that they've been in Konoha for longer than that, judging by the humongous pile of paperwork sitting on the table in the sitting room.

Yuri sighed as she looked through another mission report – this particular one had been about a mission that Yuri had gone with Nara Shikaku two months ago, Konoha's head tactician, and if the rumours are to be believed, Konoha's future jounin commander. Shikamaru's father is as sharp as his future son, and just as henpecked, if what Yuri had seen of the man's interactions with his current girlfriend is of any indication. But she can't deny that the man has a brilliant mind, and the mission that they've gone on – an infiltration mission – had been rather successful, with Shikaku being quite impressed with her.

Yuri had a hunch that she might have to avoid Nara Shikaku recruiting her for the Encryption Department in the near future. Please do spare her. While she is remarkably skilled in code breaking and all manners of spying – thanks to Jiraiya, she has no wish to do that for her entire shinobi career.

Yuri is more of a combat specialist cum fuuinjutsu combat specialist, though she enjoyed her role as a tactician. Like Shikamaru, she liked pitting her mind against her enemies, though unlike her lazy friend, she kept up with her shinobi training to outwit enemies stronger than her, or even with more numbers on their side.

Yuri snorted as she read what Shikaku had written about Iwa's involvement in the borders of Grass Country. Apparently, with the war having been going on for nearly five years, Iwa is getting lax, as they believed that with numbers on their side, and with an ally in Kumo, the war is theirs, seeing as how Suna had backed out of the war sometime back.

"You'll never know that we're really in the middle of a war with how Iwa had been acting thus far." The redhead muttered, scribbling in some notes in the record book that she had with her, before putting the report that she had been reading aside. "The Tsuchikage is an idiot."

Haku and Gaara exchanged looks and grins. They knew that Yuri never had a high opinion of the Sandaime Tsuchikage, Onoki the Fence Sitter, probably the last living veteran of the Second Great Shinobi War that they knew of, with the last being the Sandaime Hokage who had perished during their chuunin exams against Orochimaru.

His barbaric methods and old beliefs regarding his ninjas set aside, Yuri wasn't amused at what he thought of the Jinchuurikis after Gaara had told her of what Onoki had said at the Five Kage Summit. But because of the fragile alliance of the Shinobi army, Yuri had held her tongue.

"By the way, shouldn't we get going to meet team seven soon?" Haku asked, glancing at her watch. "We have a joint mission with them, right? To destroy Kannabi Bridge, if I'm not wrong."

"What time is it?" Gaara asked before Yuri stuck the arm that she had worn her watch on under his nose, and he blinked. "Oh. Let's go."

**XXXXXX**

_Team Seven's Meeting Point  
Konohagakure no sato_

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Is he here yet?" Gaara asked, very annoyed, seated atop some rock, being seated back-to-back with his two teammates and best friends, one foot tapping impatiently against the ground, with Namikaze Minato seated on another rock.

_Scribble. Scribble._

Yuri barely looked around from a scroll where she's writing something in it with a brush, creating some fuuinjutsu seals that Minato looked _very _interested in, and was practically breathing down her neck, trying to take a closer look at it. Yuri, to her credit, ignored it and continued writing.

One thing that both Minato and Kushina as well as his team seven along with all ninjas that had ever worked with Yuri had learned, it is that the girl is a damn genius with seals, and often used them in battle, unlike Minato, whose only technique that requires fuuinjutsu is his famous Hiraishin.

"Nope," said Haku with a roll of her eyes, sharpening her sword with a slab of stone that she had with her, having 'poofed' it out of a storage scroll earlier. The other two members of Yuri's team had some knowledge in seals, though they mainly used them for storage purposes. One doesn't have a teammate who is a fuuinjutsu master without picking up some fuuinjutsu skills along the way.

Team Ryuu had arrived at the designated meeting point where the Hokage and Minato have asked them to be at nearly forty-five minutes ago. On the dot and not a minute late. As a certain Uchiha isn't there yet, Team Ryuu, along with two quarters of team seven then sat down and waited…and waited…and waited…

Yuri sighed to herself as she finished her seals and glanced around the forest before rolling her eyes skywards in exasperation. _'I can see where Kakashi-sensei got his tardiness habit from,' _she thought, muttering something incoherent beneath her breath, rolling up the scroll that she is working on, much to Minato's disappointment who is itching to study the scroll. _'I swear, if he says something about being lost on the road of life when he gets here…' _"Where is he?"

"Sorry." Nishimura Rin said with an apologetic smile. "We really should have warned you about Obito's legendary tardiness. He was also late for our genin test when we graduated."

"And you let him graduate?" Gaara deadpanned, turning towards Minato who looked sheepish. The Godaime Kazekage is a stickler for punctuality, and his shinobis have long learned to always turn up on the dot or even early if they wanted an appointment with their Kazekage.

"He should be here soon." Rin assured Team Ryuu who all looked positively irritated. "In fact, right about—"

There was a scream from overhead, and all shinobis present looked skywards, trying to pinpoint the exact location where the scream is coming from, before there was a loud thud before being followed by a large cloud of dust.

"—now." Rin deadpanned.

"How the hell an idiot like him became a shinobi, I'll never know." Kakashi muttered irritably.

When the cloud of dust cleared, everyone present, sans for Kakashi, blanched.

Uchiha Obito was sprawled onto the ground…right above Namikaze Yuri herself who looked pissed. The position that the two were in looked almost as if they were about to make out. A tick actually appeared on Minato's head, and the Yellow Flash looks almost like a demon just then.

"Obito, get off before I punch you." Yuri growled.

Obito blushed before he scrambled off Yuri quickly, and the redhead got up, dusting dust off of her clothes, and settling back down onto the rock that she had been occupying moments prior before getting knocked off by Obito.

"You're _late,_ Obito." Gaara stated. "We were supposed to meet at _nine_ in the morning. And what time is it now?"

"Heh heh heh. Nine forty-five?" Obito chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. When a tick appeared on Gaara's head, he sighed. "I'm sorry."

"If you're a fully fledged ninja, you're expected to follow the rules." Kakashi stated irritably.

"Well, I ran into an old lady carrying a load and also asking for directions. And I also got something in my eye." Obito chirped cheerfully, removing the orange goggles that he is wearing, and rubbing at his eyes.

"Okay! That's a lie, isn't it?" Kakashi said irritably.

Yuri palmed her face. _'Okay. I think I understand where Kakashi-sensei got his habit of coming up with lame excuses from,' _she thought. _'Damn. If I didn't know any better, I'll think that some of Obito's personality went into him via his Sharingan eye.'_

Minato chuckled. "That's enough, Kakashi," he said. "Obito was kind enough to show the old lady the way. Being polite to the elders is part of being a shinobi as well. Isn't that right, Obito?"

"I carried her bag too!" Obito cheered, putting some eye drops into his eyes.

"Okay!" Haku said quickly, seeing a dangerous twitch in Yuri's eye. "Minato-san, I think we seriously need to get moving before Yuri kills someone. We're behind schedule as it is."

"Nii-san, briefing please." Yuri muttered irritably, pulling out a map from the pouch around her waist, the rest of her supplies being sealed away in storage scrolls like Gaara, Haku and Minato. "Shikaku-san had already briefed me on what my team need to do."

"Okay," said Minato, nodding and hopping off the rock that he is on. "Everyone, gather around." He called out before his team gathered around him. "Since Obito seemed to have forgotten, I'll say this now. From today onwards, Kakashi is a special jounin. Thus, he'll be a leader of his own squad, and will take command of Rin and Obito for today's mission. I have my own mission at a battlefield a few miles away from Kannabi Bridge. Yuri and her team have their own mission as well to stake out an Iwa stronghold in the forest that surrounds Kannabi Bridge. Okay." Minato nodded to Yuri. "Your lead."

Yuri sighed before unrolling the map in her hands and spreading it out on the rock that they're currently all crowded around before jabbing her finger somewhere in the middle of the map, trailing it down a line that marked a river. "This shows where Iwa is currently invading Kusagakure," she explained. "My last mission with Shikaku-san is to Kusa. Iwa-nins have been sighted near their borders, but it is only lately that there have been confirmations of their invasion on Kusa. We have also received Intel on one thousand ninjas that made up the frontlines."

Obito frowned. "They've advanced considerably since the last time," he muttered.

"Fire Country shares borders with Kusagakure," said Kakashi with a bored tone. "We should have stepped in long ago."

"And judging by the size of this advance…" Rin chewed on her bottom lip nervously. "They must have an efficient system for reinforcements."

Minato nodded. "Hence, our mission is here at Kannabi Bridge," he said, tapping his fingertip on a part of the map that marked out a bridge. "To crush one's enemy at the battlefront requires an immense number of ninjas. The members of both our teams specialises in sabotage and demolition missions, and thus, we are forced to work in small select groups."

Haku frowned, studying the map carefully. Kannabi Bridge had been an awful pain in the ass for Konoha and her allies of late, since the bridge that Minato had mentioned is mainly used to transport supplies and reinforcements for their enemies.

"The bridge, huh?" Haku muttered with a frown. "It's an infiltration mission then?" she mused, glancing from Yuri to Minato and back again.

Minato nodded grimly. "Team Kakashi, your mission is to infiltrate the enemy's rear territory and destroy this bridge. And when this is done, withdraw immediately." He ordered, receiving affirmative nods from his three students. "I will face the enemy directly on the battlefront, thus creating a diversion for you three."

"What about Yuri's team?" Obito asked, glancing at said kunoichi and her friends.

Gaara sighed in exasperation. He could understand just why Kakashi got so exasperated with Obito at times now. "Weren't you listening to Minato-san earlier?" he asked, irritated, and Obito grinned sheepishly. "We have our own mission to stake out an Iwa stronghold in the forest that surrounds Kannabi Bridge, which coincidentally, is the forest that you three will be travelling through to get to Kannabi Bridge. Our mission is to destroy that stronghold and to kill as many Iwa-nins as possible."

Minato sighed. "In any case, Kakashi will be your team captain for today's mission," he said. "I'll travel with you three to the borders, and from then on, your mission will commence." He then turned towards Yuri, Haku and Gaara whom were all looking particularly grim, with the redhead rolling up the map. "What about you three?"

"We're going in disguises," said Haku with a wave of her hand. "We're be travelling a different way, since if our group is too large, it'll give the game away. We'll be all right. Our mission serves as a diversion for your mission as well." She looked at Kakashi, Obito and Rin as she said so. "So take that chance."

**XXXXXX**

Tree. Rock. Tree. Rock. Twine. Creeper. And is that a squirrel hunting for nuts over there?

Obito sighed. _Nothing _had been happening thus far ever since they have gotten into the forest that they have to travel through in order to get to Kannabi Bridge. Granted, it has only been half-an-hour, but still…

"Sensei?" Rin chirped up, and Obito perked up at the first voice that had spoken ever since they have passed the borders. "Is it wise to let Yuri and the other two head off alone on a demolition mission of that level? Demolition missions are usually assigned to two squads, isn't it?"

Minato smiled back at Rin over his shoulder. "Well, I'm not worried about her," he said. "Those three specialises in demolition and sabotage after all." He shook his head. "No, scratch that. They can do just about _everything. _They are listed as a First Response Team – able to respond to just about anything. That's why practically every unit commander is demanding for them to be under their squad ever since Shikaku and Inoichi have practically sang like a magpie about them and their skills after the first mission that they have taken with them nearly four months ago. And apparently, Iwa and Kumo both have updated their Bingo Books. I don't know what technique that Yuri used, but apparently, she has some strange technique that actually shows her standing in one place. Then before the enemy knew it, she'll be in another place. No one even saw her move."

Obito scratched his head. "Hiraishin?" he offered.

"No. I asked Yuri about it when Shikaku told me about that technique of hers," said Minato with a quick shake of her head. "She said that it isn't Hiraishin. It isn't a speed technique. It's more like a phantom one. That's why Iwa is calling her the Phantom. And thanks to her last mission with Shikaku in which she killed nearly two hundred Iwa-nins at one of Iwa's bases, the Tsuchikage himself put Namikaze Yuri in the Bingo Books as an S-class shinobi, with a flee on sight order."

Kakashi shook his head in vague amusement. "Oh dear. Must be in the Namikaze blood or something, sensei. Both brother and sister being S-class ninjas in Iwa's Bingo Books, with a flee on sight order."

"So those three will be all right?" Rin asked with concern. She doesn't know them long, but she liked those three, and sees them as her friends, much like how Obito is.

"Well, those three are skilled. _Extremely _skilled," said Minato, neglecting to mention the fact just _how _those three are so skilled. "I'll be worried if I can meet someone who can actually hurt them. No." He closed his eyes. "I can't imagine something hurting them at all."

**XXXXXX**

Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, Yuri, Haku and Gaara have found the Iwa stronghold with little to no problem, and had waited until night had fallen before making their move. All three had suppressed their chakra to the point that no one could sense them – an unconscious move instilled in them from their experiences during the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

Thus, both Haku and Gaara are currently perched on trees as they waited patiently for Yuri to return. At least, Haku is waiting _patiently_ whilst Gaara is waiting _impatiently. _The two have been on several demolition missions with Yuri in the past, and they knew that the redhead uses fuuinjutsu for nearly every demolition mission that she had gone on. It does the job quickly, and the enemy wouldn't be alerted to their presences until it is too late.

"She's in," said Haku suddenly, seeing a light flare before it sparked off a domino reaction, with explosion after explosion exploding around the stronghold, inciting loud screams and yells, along with the strong smell of burnt flesh, and Haku winced. That had been a particular familiar sight with every demolition mission that had Yuri's involvement. She rarely lets anyone leave alive whenever she went on a demolition mission. And even if there are any that managed to escape, their shinobi careers will be over.

"Mission complete." Gaara stated. "Now we can meet up with Team Minato and assist them. I'm a little worried about their mission. I have a bad feeling about it."

"Yeah, me too," said Haku with a sigh, as she looked towards the direction where Minato and his team were supposed to be heading towards. She then frowned. "I hope that I'm just thinking too much…"

**XXXXXX**

A loud explosion rocked the entire battlefield, and all Leaf-nins present blinked at the absence of falling debris and rocks before they looked up only to see the redhead nin that came along with Namikaze Minato's younger sister standing in front of them, a shield of sand shielding them from raining debris.

Not even a second later, Namikaze Minato landed next to Gaara, a serious look on his face.

"Thanks for the help," said the jounin in charge of the operation, nodding to Gaara who let his sand fall. "And you're finally here." He directed this to Minato.

"We finished our mission early, and Yuri sent me here to help. She and Haku have gone on ahead to assist your students." Gaara answered the unasked question before turning towards the jounin that had spoken earlier. "What is the situation?"

"I'd say that there are about fifty of the enemy," said the jounin, glancing over the battlefield worriedly where there is still a large cloud of dust that is yet to clear. "Compared to that, there are just four of us left alive."

"Well, I've fought with less odds than that, and in worse situations," said Gaara, closing his eyes briefly, recalling the battles fought during the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

"All right," said Minato, before reaching into his pouch and handing out several tri-pronged kunais to the four ninjas present, along with Gaara.

The redhead recognised it at once from the history books of Konoha, and recognised the seals inscribed on the kunais that he was given, as Yuri had similar seals inscribed on her clothing, which the girl had taken as a great insult in the beginning. It is only after major convincing and arguing before Yuri had relented, though she is secretly pleased that her father had cared enough about her to demand her to allow him to place Hiraishin seals on all her clothing.

"Everyone, please direct these kunais towards the enemy all at once." Minato commanded, handing out his Hiraishin kunais. "I will do the rest." He then turned away. "Gaara-kun, please guard these men."

Gaara nodded, whilst one of the ninjas protested. "That's crazy! Not even you could—"

"Just be quiet and do as he says," said the jounin who had spoken earlier, picking up one of the Hiraishin kunais by his foot. "We're about to see the Yellow Flash of the Leaf in battle. Don't blink, or you'll miss it."

Gaara smirked, readying a Hiraishin kunai. _'I can take them out all by myself, but it'll be interesting to see the famed Yellow Flash in battle,' _he thought. _'So it begins here.'_

* * *

Yukina Haku frowned when she saw a battered Kakashi crouching on the branches of some tree below her. Upon sensing both Obito and Kakashi's chakra signatures moving away from each other, and not sensing Rin with either of them, Yuri got worried and they have then made the decision to split up, with Yuri going after Obito, and Haku after Kakashi.

"Kakashi." Haku dropped down in front of Kakashi in a crouch, and the silver haired pre-teen was taken aback by surprise with the sudden appearance of the ice maiden. Haku frowned when she saw Kakashi holding his side. "You're injured?" She mused, forming some healing chakra, and healing the injury. "Where are Rin and Obito?"

"Rin…got taken away by Iwa-nins." Kakashi answered hesitantly, and in her shock, Haku stopped her healing. "Obito went after her."

Silence.

"And what are _you_ doing here if Obito is going after your kidnapped teammate?" Haku asked dangerously. "Are you abandoning them?"

"Those that breaks the rules are scum." Kakashi muttered, still not looking at Haku.

More silence.

"Kakashi, I want you to answer a question of mine," said Haku at last, and Kakashi turned towards her in surprise. The ice maiden knew just how to crack through the masks of stubborn people like Kakashi. Both Yuri and Gaara have been extremely stubborn as well when Haku had first met them. By now, she had more than enough experience to crack through emotional masks. "What do you think Konoha is?"

"Huh? Our village," said Kakashi, but Haku shook her head.

"That's not what I mean," said Haku. "In your opinion, what do _you _think Konoha is?"

"W-Well, it's my home and—"

"Exactly," said Haku with a nod. "Konoha is not just a village. It's a _home. _The walls, the buildings and the history doesn't make up Konoha, doesn't make up the village. It is the people in there, the bonds you make, your friends and family, your comrades, that make up Konoha. Make up the village." Haku looked sternly at Kakashi. "The village can always be rebuilt even if it has been destroyed. Buildings can always be built again. These things can always be regained one way or another, EXCEPT human lives! A life, once gone, can never be regained again. I am a combat medic, Kakashi. I take as many lives as many that I've saved. If I am given a choice now; a choice to save my comrade's life over failing a mission, and succeeding a mission over leaving a comrade to die, I will always take saving my friend over the mission. There are always missions to be done. But you can never replace your friend."

* * *

"Damn. Where is he?" Yuri muttered, glancing around her surroundings. She then sighed and took in a deep breath, closing her eyes. She then placed her right hand over her right eye before opening her eyes, only allowing her left eye to be able to see her surroundings.

A misty appearance had appeared in her vision, almost like a dreamscape of some sort. Yuri then smiled as she saw the visage of a silver-haired man standing in front of her, smiling at her, pointing towards his right side. _"That way. Please save that girl. And please help my son in the way that I could not," _he whispered.

Yuri nodded. "Thanks," she said.

* * *

"Obito."

Obito nearly jumped a foot in the air, and turned around only to see Yuri dropping down behind him. "YOU—"

Before he could even say another word, Yuri had covered his mouth, a harsh look in her eyes. "Shut the hell up!" she hissed. "The enemy could hear you!" She then sighed, and glanced at Obito. "I know enough to piece together what had just happened myself. So Rin is in there?" She jerked her chin towards the cave in front of them, and Obito nodded.

He then took out a kunai, not taking his eyes off of the cave in front of them that held his teammate and dearest friend. "Rin…" he muttered, before he took in deep breaths. Yuri's eye twitched just then before she slowly reached for her sword hanging from a holster, hanging horizontally at the back of her waist. "All right! Here I go!"

_Clang!_

Startled, Obito turned around only to see Yuri standing in between him and a bulky Iwa-nin with a bandanna wrapped around his head in a similar fashion to Shiranui Genma, his neighbour, and also his senior of about three years. A particularly beautiful sword is in Yuri's hands, and she had a dangerous look on her face.

At the same moment, Kakashi had appeared out of nowhere, slashing at the back of the Iwa-nin with his tanto, causing him to fall off the tree, and Haku grabbed Obito out of the way as the Iwa-nin fell past him.

"Pay attention to your surroundings, Obito!" Haku scolded.

Yuri smirked, turning around to keep focus on the Iwa-nin. "You came, Kakashi."

The Iwa-nin landed nimbly on the tree branch opposite of the one that they're standing on as the four pre-teens turned their attention towards their enemy. "K-Kakashi? How come you're…?"

"Haku knocked some sense into me…literally." Kakashi grumbled, ignoring the fact that he has a pretty nice bump on the top of his head, courtesy of the ice maiden with him. "And I can't leave this to a crybaby like you, can I?"

"Dear me… You sure talk big, Kakashi," said Yuri, shaking her head. "But…" She narrowed her eyes. "You're still a Konoha ninja, our comrade. Back me up."

Kakashi nodded. "Okay," he said, readying his tanto.

It happened in a split second. One moment, Yuri was standing in front of Obito, the next, she had disappeared like black mist, appearing behind the Iwa-nin who barely dodged a fatal blow to his heart. As it is, he got a nice wound on his side.

"Oh? You dodged it?" Yuri raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Not bad."

"That movement…" The Iwa-nin grunted, holding onto his side. "You… Are you the Phantom?"

"That's what I'm known as, yes," said Yuri with a cold smirk.

The Iwa-nin then formed a single handseal before vanishing.

"Camouflage jutsu." Haku spoke, glancing in several directions at once. "We'll have to track him by smell and sound alone. Yuri!" She called out to her best friend.

"I know!" Yuri said, irritated. "I'm trying!"

Yuri sent out a subtle chakra pulse, reading the chakra signatures in the forest, no matter how small it is. "Obito, behind you!" she called out suddenly.

The Uchiha was too stunned to actually react, but fortunately for him, Haku was faster. There was a loud clang of clang of metal, as Haku parried her kunai with the kunai of the Iwa-nin, the expression on her face murderous – the same look that she always had on when dealing with an enemy. "I don't think so," she said.

The Iwa-nin leapt back and vanished again. Yuri growled. "Oi Obito, can you see him?" she called out.

"Huh?"

"He's too fast for us to catch up," said Haku, explaining for Yuri's sake. "Both Yuri and I are sensors in a way, but it takes us a while to sense him. Only a doujutsu like the Sharingan or Byakugan can see him."

"B-But I hadn't activated my Sharingan yet!" Obito squeaked.

"Do you want to die?" Yuri snapped before she threw another kunai behind Obito, with the kunai landing against the tree bark with a thud, and a rustle of leaves that followed told the tale of the Iwa-nin running. "If you don't want to die, hurry and activate your Sharingan!"

"I…I don't want to be so weak!"

**XXXXXX**

Gaara whistled. "Nice!" he said, eyeing the dead Iwa-nins. He then narrowed his eyes as a sudden feeling crept over him, and he turned his head towards the direction where Yuri and Haku have gone towards, and narrowed his eyes.

This feeling…

He'll never forget it.

It's the same feeling that he got every single time that Yuri uses that 'accursed power'. Or as she liked to put it, 'the devil's power'. She must be _pretty _desperate to resort to using that.

'_This feeling… Yuri, you're using 'it'?'_

**XXXXXX**

Yuri was pissed, and she showed it.

This mission…isn't exactly going her way. She really should have known. Shikamaru had once said something about an old ninja superstition that his father had heard from _his_ sensei which Nara Shikaku had later told his son about when Shikamaru was a genin. Apparently, if a mission started out smoothly, it will usually take a bad turn towards the end and vice-versa.

Yuri could identify with that, especially during her days as an ANBU prior to the start of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. If a mission of hers went smoothly, she is _always _bound to run into some A-rank or B-rank missing-nin on the way home that will give her some problems. And if a mission started out badly, it would somehow always end earlier than expected, and she will have more time to rest once she returns to the village.

The Iwa-nin that they've ended up facing outside the cave was felled by them after Obito had managed to activate his Sharingan. Yuri ended up pretty exhausted by the end of it, as she might have been one of the most powerful in her original timeline, but her chakra reserves currently were just not how it had been normally when she was nineteen. She might still have relatively huge chakra reserves for a kunoichi, but it is less than what she was used to when she was nineteen.

That is the reason why she depended on seals most of the time until she can get her chakra reserves back up to how it once was, though those few jutsus that she used are pretty powerful, and are original techniques, which had baffled her parents when they have seen it. Privately, Yuri had suspected that the only reason why she is even listed as S-class in the Bingo Books is probably because of her overprotective 'father' and 'mother', the Yellow Flash of Konoha as well as the Red Death.

About three months back, she happened to be on a solo A-rank demolition mission to bring down one of Iwa's warehouses that is their main supplier for supplies, food and weapons. The mission went smoothly, but she ended up running into half a platoon of Iwa-nins on their way back from a battlefield. Yuri barely managed to escape with her life, as she was already worn out from her mission earlier. When both her parents heard about it, they were _pissed, _and both went missing mysteriously for two weeks after that.

Three weeks later, Haku had shown her Iwa's latest version of their Bingo Book, and she saw, much to her surprise, that she had been bumped up from A-rank to S-rank, with a flee on sight order. And Yuri had a suspicion that it is because both her overprotective parents will target all those who have tried killing her, thus the reason why the Tsuchikage had bumped her rank up in their Bingo Books, with a similar flee on sight order that had also been attached to the names of both her parents.

That Iwa-nin that they've faced outside the cave, okay, no problem. They've managed to kill him when Obito had activated his Sharingan, and Kakashi got him in the heart with his tanto. Then they got into the cave and faced this Iwa-nin who turned out to be one of Iwa's best jounins, ranked as A-ranked in Konoha's Bingo Books.

Unfortunately, all four present were already worn out from their earlier mission; Haku and Yuri from their demolition mission, and Kakashi and Obito from battling the Iwa-nin earlier. And thus, they had a harder than usual time against this guy who is easily three times their size and height, and with greater strength than he looks.

"It couldn't be helped…" Yuri muttered, closing her eyes. "I didn't want to show this form to anyone, but it couldn't be helped."

The Iwa-nin narrowed his eyes, and both Kakashi and Obito stared at Yuri, whilst Haku frowned. _'Is she going to use 'that'?' _Haku wondered.

Yuri covered her right eye with her right hand before removing it, and opening her eyes, and all present, sans for Haku, were taken aback by what they saw. "W-What is that eye?" The Iwa-nin shouted.

Instead of the cerulean blue that the members of Team Minato were so used to seeing, Yuri's left eye is a blood-red colour, an even darker and deeper colour than the red of the Sharingan. It looks almost…demonic in a way.

"I never did like to use this power." Yuri whispered. "This terrifying power that isn't of this world. This left eye of mine can see beings not of this world, and can also bend and warp reality and illusion. And this ability…"

Yuri vanished just like how she did earlier – appearing rather like a phantom being in front of the stunned Iwa-nin in the way that had given her the name of 'Phantom'. Acting on sheer instinct, the Iwa-nin slashed at Yuri with his kunai, only for every single person present, sans for Haku, to blanch, as it was like the Iwa-nin had just cut through black mist, before that 'mist' reformed back.

"W-What did Yuri do?" Kakashi asked, eyes bulging. "I know that I saw him slash at her."

"That's her ability," said Haku. "She can warp reality and illusion. It's not an ability that she used often, and even I've only seen her use it once. People get scared at seeing something like this, that's why she never spoke about it. And she named this ability…"

"…Kyoka Suigetsu." Both Yuri and Haku spoke at the same time.

Haku smiled to herself. _'Yuri's greatest weakness as a ninja had always been genjutsu. She just never had the control to use genjutsu, even as a genin. As she rose up the ranks, she then knew enough to dispel them, but never enough to cast genjutsu. It is only because of the war that Kurenai-sensei taught her some high level ones. But after the Kyuubi was ripped out of her gut, she developed this ability. Kyoka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower Water Moon). The ultimate illusion technique. Not even the Sharingan's hypnosis and genjutsu abilities can match up to this. Yuri can make a poisonous fruit look like a fresh red apple, a ravine to look like a normal looking lake. A war beaten town to look like a normal happy village. She can make you see anything that she wanted to until you can no longer tell the differences between reality and illusion. That is the power of the ultimate illusion technique: one that only the Kyuubi could use. That is the power of Kyoka Suigetsu.'_

Haku was snapped out of her thoughts as the sounds of loud screaming echoed throughout the cave that they were in, causing Kakashi who had the most sensitive hearing of the lot of them to wince and cover his ears. The ice maiden then stepped aside as Yuri kicked the Iwa-nin not too gently in the chest, and sent him flying past them.

The four Leaf-nins then turned and ran towards where a tied-up Rin is, obviously under the effects of some genjutsu. Kakashi formed a single handseal as Obito cut the ropes binding her. "Kai!"

Rin's eyes cleared up just then. "Guys…"

"Rin, let's get out of here!" Obito huffed.

"I see." All five ninjas stiffened and turned around only to see the Iwa-nin from earlier getting up, though holding his ribs like it hurt him to even move. "They don't call you 'Phantom' for nothing. I see now why the Tsuchikage put you as an S-rank ninja, and attached a flee on sight order to your name. But it all ends here." The Iwa-nin formed several handseals before slamming his hands down onto the ground. "Earth Style: Rock Breaker!"

The entire cave started shaking just then, and all five Leaf-nins started looking around their surroundings, uneasy looks on their faces. "Oh boy… I have a _really _bad feeling about this…" Haku muttered uneasily.

Pebbles, rocks and debris started raining down onto their heads from the ceiling of the cave, and Yuri narrowed her eyes. "This is not good," she muttered. _"Definitely _not good." She turned towards her comrades. "Run!"

"Yeah, I second that!" Kakashi muttered, running towards the exit of the cave, with Rin and Obito close on his heels. "Run for the exit!"

"Yeah, you'll get no complaints from me about that." Obito muttered, dragging Rin along with him. "Come on!"

The shaking as well as the falling of the rocks and debris were worsening by the second, and Kakashi who was in between Obito and Rin as well as Haku and Yuri stumbled as a rock fell on his head, catching Rin's attention.

"Kakashi!"

Obito backtracked before grabbing Kakashi's hand before the silver haired ninja could fall, and tugged him forwards, practically throwing the boy into Rin.

"Oh my god—!" Haku gasped as _boulders _started falling down around their heads next, and she narrowly avoided getting squished by one particularly large one. Haku then began forming several quick handseals in rapid succession. "Ice Style: Four Style Pillars!"

There was a loud crash, throwing up an enormous cloud of dust as it did so, before the temperature seemed to fell several degrees, and then, all was silent.

Kakashi was the first one to regain consciousness, and as he did so, his other comrades started stirring. "Oh my head…" Kakashi groaned before his memory caught up to him, and he started looking around. "Is everyone alright?"

The cloud of dust cleared as he said so, and the eyes of everyone present widened as they saw Obito on the ground in front of them…with his right arm trapped under a rather enormous boulder.

"Obito!"

Rin covered her mouth with both hands in horror. "No…!"

Yuri who had been the nearest to Obito, along with Kakashi who had rushed over, both tried to push at the boulder, but to no avail. The boulder simply refused to budge, no matter what they did.

"Obito!" Rin rushed to her teammate. "Are you alright?"

"My right arm's totally crushed…" Obito told her through a forced smile. "But it could be worse, right?"

Yuri glanced skywards worriedly where the ice barrier that Haku had summoned surrounded them. The redhead knew that it wouldn't remain intact for long as well, as the foundation of the cave isn't exactly stable as it is.

"Kakashi, any ideas to get Obito out?" she asked breathlessly. "We can't stay here for long. The cave will fall in soon!"

"This damn boulder won't move!" Kakashi cried out in desperation, throwing his arms up in frustration. "My Chidori isn't powerful enough to pierce through something _this _thick, and even if it could, it could hurt Obito and the rest of you!"

"You'd better hurry, guys," said Haku worriedly, glancing skywards where the ceiling of the cave is starting to tremble. "I think we only have minutes left."

"In that case, there is only one way out," said Yuri grimly, and everyone turned towards her. The redhead clenched her jaw tightly before answering. "Obito, we're going to have to cut your arm off to get you out."

Silence.

The remaining two members of Team Minato stared at her as if Yuri had just grown two new heads. _"What?"_

"Are you _crazy?"_ Kakashi cried.

"Do it!" Obito hissed, his eyes twitching with pain from the boulder that is currently crushing his arm.

"But, Obito!" Rin protested.

"If you guys stay in here any longer, you'll all get crushed by the rock fall! Just do it!"

Rin bit on her bottom lip, glancing nervously at Kakashi who nodded hesitantly, and she then got down on her knees beside Obito. "Obito, I'll put you in a genjutsu induced sleep. You won't wake up until this is all over." Rin told her teammate with a quavering voice, with said teammate nodding. The brunette medic-nin then formed several handseals before tapping Obito's forehead with two fingers. The Uchiha then fell asleep.

"I'll do it," said Yuri, stepping forward. She glanced from Rin to Kakashi who were both glaring at her, and she sighed. "Look, you both know as well as I do that this is the only way if you don't want Obito to die. Besides, I'm a wind user. If I use the blades of wind to cut his arm off, the medics back at Konoha might be able to find a transplant arm for Obito, or a seal could even help him. That is only _if _the nerves in his arm aren't damaged."

Kakashi's eyes widened in realisation. "And wind blades are the sharpest in the world," he whispered. "It can easily cut off a person's limb without damaging the nerves itself."

His sensei is wind user after all; all members of his genin team knew that.

Yuri nodded, and Haku took in a deep shaky breath as she saw the rocks above their heads beginning to shake and come loose from the ceiling. "Yuri, hurry!"

Yuri placed her index and middle fingers together before focusing wind chakra to those two fingers. Without any hesitation, she then slashed down at Obito's arm…

**XXXXXX**

"_You killed Chouji…!" Shikamaru hissed, the nodachi in his hands shaking with pure fury as he faced a nonchalant Uchiha Sasuke in some cave where the Uchiha had taken refugee in to rest up from his wounds after a thorough beating that he was given by the combined forces of Lee and Gai, the two Green Beasts of Konoha._

_It was the second year of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, and the battles were getting more intense and more frightening by the day. Several civilian villages and towns have been all but wiped out from the fighting taking place among the ninjas. But at this point, it simply couldn't be helped._

_Nara Shikamaru, Konoha's famous most laid-back and laziest ninja, also being one of their best tacticians, is now a very angry teen after having witnessed his best friend, Akimichi Chouji's brutal murder at the hands of Uchiha Sasuke. Yamanaka Ino had all but broke down at her teammate's death, and is in no shape to continue fighting. Team Ten had been broken with no hope of repair._

"_Shikamaru, calm down!" Yuri hissed to her friend._

_After Neji and Yuri have found out where Uchiha Sasuke is, unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how one tends to look at it, Shikamaru had overheard them, and had demanded them to take him with them, even threatening to use his Shadow Mimic technique on them if he has to._

"_You're nothing but a fool, Shikamaru. If you're really a ninja, you should have accepted the fact that deaths are all but part and parcel of our life." Sasuke sneered, the eyes of his Eternal Mangekyou staring back at them._

_Shikamaru growled. "A fool's errand it might be, Uchiha. But better to be a fool, than to live your life knowing nothing at all. And even if I die, I'm taking as many of you as I could as I go down!"_

"_No, Shikamaru!" Neji shouted as Shikamaru moved faster than he had ever thought possible, dashing towards Sasuke._

"_Straight on attacks won't work on him, Shikamaru! Stop!" Yuri shouted, rushing forwards as well, but she knew that it's futile._

_There was a loud explosion, and when the smoke cleared, the eyes of both Neji and Yuri went wide as they saw what they did. Sasuke's sword had been driven through Shikamaru's chest, appearing on the other side of his body, whilst black shadows have been wrapped around Sasuke's body, with his left hand severed and laid on the ground useless, another shadow piercing through Sasuke's left eye._

_Sasuke let out a loud howl, covering his eye with his current only useable hand. "D-Damn you, Nara!" he growled. "How dare you…?"_

"_You take so much pride in those eyes of yours. The least that I can do to avenge our fallen comrades is to take that which you're so proud of away from you!" Shikamaru rasped._

"_I'll look forward to killing you one of these days." Sasuke growled before he vanished with a quick shunshin._

"_Shikamaru!" Yuri shouted, rushing towards her old friend, with Neji close behind her heels. Both reached their village's laziest ninja at the same moment, kneeling down by his side with tears pooling out from their eyes. "Medic… We need a medic here!"_

"_It's…no use." Shikamaru rasped, turning slightly glazed over eyes at his friends. "I'm…done for. Sasuke… The Uchiha hit a vital spot." He coughed out blood. "This…is so troublesome…"_

"_Shikamaru, why did you do such a reckless thing?" Neji asked in desperation._

_Shikamaru smiled. "Dying…is troublesome," he rasped, before coughing out blood again. "Yuri…sorry… I…couldn't keep our promise…"_

"_Shikamaru…you idiot…" Yuri managed to smile through her tears._

_Shikamaru laughed, coughing and hacking up blood as he did so. "Heh…an…idiot is right… You…are so troublesome…" He coughed. "Hey Yuri. Was…I of some help…in the end?"_

_Yuri nodded her head vigorously. "You did great," she said, her voice shaking. "You did great. That's why…don't die!"_

"_That's…good to hear." Shikamaru whispered, his voice getting weaker. "I'm…leaving Konoha and Kurenai-sensei…to you…" He coughed. "I…talk all big…but in the end…I still needed to depend on you… I'm…sorry…"_

"_Don't be. You did great." Yuri assured her dying friend, her voice trembling with emotion. "It'll…be all right. That's why…" She trailed off._

_Shikamaru smiled. "Is…this Death? If Death is this peaceful…then I…am no longer afraid…" he rasped, more crimson liquid spilling from his lips with each spoken word. There must be more blood than a human body usually contains spilling from his lips._

"_Shikamaru…" Neji muttered sorrowfully._

"_Yuri… Neji…" His two friends leaned in closer to him. "My 'King'… Asuma-sensei's 'King'… Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei's child… Protect him for me…"_

_Neji nodded. "We will."_

_Shikamaru smiled. "That's…good to hear," he rasped. He then turned his head towards Neji. "Neji, look after Yuri." The Hyuuga nodded firmly. "Then take Yuri and get out of here." The cave started to shake and tremble at this point in time, and the Hyuuga looked up, startled. "Enemy reinforcements…will soon be here. This…is one of their hideouts after all."_

"_Shikamaru…" Yuri whispered, holding her old friend's limp hand that is slicked with blood._

_Shikamaru slipped his hand out of the redhead's grasp. "Just go," he rasped. "To know that I could go…dying for my friends…is good enough for me. Just…carry on for me. Take care of my 'King'."_

_The cave started shaking and rocks started raining down around their heads just then. Neji barely managed to pull Yuri out of the way of a semi-large boulder that crashed down on where she had been a moment ago, also crushing half of Shikamaru's side at the same time, causing the Nara to cough out more blood from where he is._

"_Shikamaru!" Yuri screamed, turning back towards her old friend, tears streaming from her eyes._

"_Yuri, come on, let's go!" Neji shouted, not releasing his grasp on her._

_As the two ran across the cave, another large crash caused Yuri to turn around only to see the rocks starting to fall around the area where Shikamaru is, hiding him from view._

"_Shikamaru!" Yuri called out, still not willing to leave her old friend behind._

War brings death, wounds and pain to both sides. There is nothing harder to accept than the deaths of those that you love. Your generation that hasn't known war, try to find meaning in death only to be left with pain, and with more hatred that you don't know what to do with. Dying like trash, never ending hatred… _That_is war. And in time, this is what you must face, Yuri. Your generation has never known war. And those that do not know war try to find meaning in death only to be left with pain. And with more hatred that you do not know what to do with.

'Is this really war, Nagato?' _Yuri thought as Neji continued to drag her away._ 'Then what _is _war?' _She closed her eyes._ 'I wished…that I could have spent more time with everyone else…'

* * *

"_I swore that I would never work with anyone else again after Shikamaru's death." Yuri said to Haku and Gaara who have both approached her with grim expressions on their faces, with the redhead facing a similar monument stone like the one in Konoha near the Shinobi army's war camp, on which was inscribed all the names of those that had fallen in battle as a mark of respect to their fallen heroes._

_The Five Kages, though it is more like all the Five Kages sans for the Kazekage, had summoned Yuri two days ago and had told her that they would like for her to work together with Gaara and Haku as a team to form the first kind of their team that there ever was – a First Response Team._

_Yuri had refused, and had then disappeared for two days._

_Gaara and Haku exchanged looks between themselves before the former sighed. He is the one who understood Yuri best, having been a former Jinchuuriki. He then stepped forward. _

"_Neji told me about Shikamaru," he said bluntly. "I was there when Temari had cried her eyes out when she heard about her boyfriend's death. When Neji heard from Hinata-san about the Five Kages' decision, he went to me. He only asked me for one request. Do you know what he told me?" Yuri shrugged nonchalantly. "'Look after Yuri'." Yuri turned around to face her friend, a startled look in her eyes. Gaara's lips twitched slightly. "The same request that Shikamaru had asked of him with his dying breath. Neji had been assigned back to his old squad, and he knew that he couldn't protect you as effectively as I could. That's why he asked that of me. He also said that Shikamaru would have asked this of me if he is still alive. They both still believe in you, Yuri." Gaara said sternly._

"_Shikamaru-san is dead, but we're still alive. The enemy is still alive." Haku spoke up next. "We're still fighting. Shikamaru-san didn't die meaninglessly. He will want you to continue fighting. Will you live up to his and Jiraiya-san's memory? To everyone's memory? Will you continue fighting, Yuri?"_

_Yuri sighed and nodded._

"_Until the end," she said._

_Haku and Gaara both nodded._

"_Until the end," they said._

**XXXXXX**

Kakashi opened his eyes only to meet with the night skies of a clear starry night with minimal cloud covering. It took him several moments before he remembered what had happened.

Rin's capture, his argument with Obito, Haku knocking some sense into him, facing the two Iwa-nins, saving Obito by cutting his arm off, then…nearly two full platoons of Iwa-nins waiting for them just as they've gotten out as the cave fell in, then he remembered nothing.

Kakashi sat up all of a sudden only to regret it as his head hurt from getting up too suddenly.

"You're awake, Kakashi?" said his sensei's voice, and Kakashi turned only to see his sensei sitting beside him, his back resting against a tree.

Yuri was asleep, sleeping with her head resting on his sensei's thigh, with the blonde man combing through her hair absently with his fingers gently, his jounin vest covering her torso, serving as a blanket. Kakashi privately thought that they looked more like father and daughter at this point, rather than brother and sister. Then again, with their age differences and all, maybe his sensei did prefer to be like a father to his younger sister who had grown up without knowing any parental affection…

The rest of the team was also asleep, all in their sleeping bags, and Kakashi glanced over at Obito who was sleeping next to Rin only to notice white bandages peeking out just under his right shirt sleeve, with beads of sweat visible on his forehead.

"Sensei? How?" Kakashi muttered through his still sleep-induced state.

"Yuri threw this to alert me," said Minato, lifting up his right hand where a Hiraishin kunai hung from his middle finger, careful not to wake his 'sister'. "But even before that, Gaara-kun got worried. I arrived only to see only two platoons of Iwa-nins, and I took them all down with Gaara-kun's help." Minato glanced over at Obito before turning back towards Kakashi. "Rin told me everything." He looked at his student sternly. "Yuri made the right decision, Kakashi. Losing his arm might cost Obito his shinobi career, but it is better than him or all of you losing your lives. And she is right; we might possibly be able to reconstruct a new arm for him as long as the nerves of his arm are still intact. Even if we could not, there are shinobis who managed their shinobi careers just fine with only one arm, albeit a little handicapped."

Kakashi looked away, shame-faced. "If only… If only I had gone to save Rin right from the very beginning…" he muttered. "Then Obito wouldn't have lost his arm trying to save me. If only…"

"You're a lot like him, yet different as well," said a soft voice, and Kakashi and Minato both turned towards Yuri who hadn't moved from where she had laid down on Minato's leg, with her back turned to him. How long had she been awake?

"What do you mean?" asked Kakashi with a frown.

"You're a lot like my former best friend…the former you," said Yuri curtly. "At least you accepted the fact that you needed help from others and is willing to be helped in return. He never did. He tried doing everything himself. We are both rather similar. Me and him. He grew up with a family before losing them all when he was little. I grew up with no one only to meet people who later became family to me. I didn't even meet Haku and Gaara until a few years ago. A couple of years back, something happened, and he tried to kill me."

Minato narrowed his eyes.

_That day when you walked away  
I realised how much you meant to me  
But then it's too late…_

* * *

"_Even if I have to break your legs…I'll bring you back to the village!"_

* * *

"I nearly died. I chased after him after that, wanting to bring him back, only to realise that it is all for nothing. He never wanted us to help him, and I watched helplessly as he sunk deeper and deeper into darkness."

_When you're gone, I'm alone  
When you're gone, do you know?  
As you're gone, I can't stop missing you  
All the memories will fade away_

* * *

"_What is this, a Team Seven reunion? Where is Kakashi?" Sasuke sneered. "Tell me, Yuri. Do you still wish to bring me back?"_

_Sakura and Yamato stiffened as Sasuke appeared behind Yuri, a sword in his hand as he pointed the tip of the blade at a vital spot. _

"_Then tell me something, Sasuke," said Yuri with her eyes closed before blocking his sword with a kunai. "Do you want me to?"_

* * *

"In the end, no one could help him. No one could. Neither does he want to be helped. He chased after power with a thirst for revenge for all the wrong reasons, and his search for power brought him nothing but more pain and suffering."

_To me now there's only sadness  
I am such a fool  
To believe that you might have changed  
Now nothing matters to me  
_'_Cause all in me is pain…_

* * *

_It had been one of the first battles during the Fourth Great Shinobi War. And already, Yuri was starting to wish that she was dead as she clashed blades again and again with Sasuke._

"_Sasuke, why are you doing this?" Yuri shouted, parrying the Kusanagi with her own blade – a kodachi that had been a gift from Jiraiya. "This war…is __**this **__something that you wanted?"_

"_Shut up! And stay out of this!" Sasuke hissed, his eyes bleeding into the blood red of the Sharingan. "Where are they? The two elders! Where the fuck are they? Where are you hiding them?"_

_Yuri narrowed her eyes at Sasuke. _'I was right. He is after them after all. Itachi-nii…must I really do this? Do you really want me to do this?' _"I'm afraid that I can't let you know. Why do you even want them dead in the first place?"_

"_It's none of your business!"_

_Yuri narrowed her eyes. _'Have you really lost yourself to darkness, Sasuke?' _"I knew your brother." Sasuke paused in his tracks, narrowing his eyes. "He was my guard when I was little. He raised me, taught me to read and write, taught me the basic necessities of life… When the Hokage told me that he had became a criminal, I didn't believe him. Until now, I still didn't. Until I received a letter from him a week before his death, telling me everything. Now I understood what he had meant from our last encounter." Sasuke glared at Yuri, but the redhead continued as if Sasuke hadn't done anything. "He asked me if I could truly bring myself to kill you. He asked me how would I choose to save you. He asked me that if you became a criminal in Konoha's eyes, what would I do? He asked me if there ever came a day when I would have to choose between you and Konoha…between you, my best friend, and Konoha, my village, what would I do? I told him that I wouldn't choose either. That I would choose to save both. He smiled then, and I didn't understand why." _

_There was a light clang of metal as Yuri forced Kusanagi out of Sasuke's hands, and turned to glare at him. "You said that I wouldn't understand. I think I understand a great deal, Sasuke. I spent more time with Itachi than you ever knew. I know your brother better than you think. Why do you think Itachi did what he did? Why do you think he made the decision that he did? For what did he die for? For __**whom **__did he die for? Eh? Answer me, Sasuke!"_

"_Shut up!" Sasuke roared, his eyes spinning into the Mangekyou Sharingan. "Just shut up! You don't understand anything!"_

"_I understand better than you think!" Yuri snapped back. "Itachi told me everything. He told me the truth. He begged me in that letter." Sasuke paused in his tracks. "Itachi __**begged **__me. He told me that if there ever comes a day when you learnt the truth, and you turned traitor to Konoha, for me to finish the job that he didn't manage to finish on that fateful day nearly nine years ago! I am an ANBU now too. I know what Konoha has to do in order to keep her people safe. I am one of those people who have to dirty our hands in order to keep that peace and to protect our village! Itachi was one of those too! Who do you think he did everything, sacrificed everything for? For you. For me. For the village. He is a true hero! And what you're doing now… You're only disgracing his memory! He did everything that he did to __**prevent **__a war from breaking out. And what did you do but actually __**start **__one?"_

_Yuri shook her head. "Do not make assumptions on what you saw and thought that you knew back when we were kids, Sasuke," she said. "I know more than you think, and I have seen Konoha at her worst. I know how cruel people can be. I had to be cruel too. Often, I had to kill people who merely knew or saw something that they shouldn't, or they have appeared at the wrong place at the wrong time, or were even related to the wrong person. They didn't have a choice. But then again, I didn't too. But you did. You had a choice. And you threw it all away. And look what it brought you."_

"_Enough! I don't want to listen anymore!" Sasuke screamed, covering his ears with both his hands. "I had enough! I had enough of being played for like a puppet! First Konoha. Then Madara. Even my brother… Just what did he do wrong, huh? Answer me, Yuri! What sins had he committed? Did he deserve everything that had happened to him? You said that you knew Itachi. But do you __**truly **__know him?"_

_Yuri was silent._

_A smirk curled at Sasuke's lips. "You can't answer me, can you?" he sneered. "You're just like Itachi. Just like Kakashi. Just like Sakura. Just like your __**father. **__None of you can bring yourself to kill your own hearts and to kill me. To execute me as a criminal. You had plenty of chances to do that, but you didn't. But you won't have a choice in this war, Yuri. If you truly want to protect Konoha, you have to kill me. But I wonder…" Sasuke smirked. "I wonder if you can truly bring yourself to do it. To kill me?"_

_Yuri blinked as Sasuke covered her eyes with his hand, focusing chakra into his hand before she started losing herself to unconsciousness, and darkness slowly started overcoming her. "We were all just puppets in a game of chess after all." Sasuke whispered as he lowered her gently to the ground. "Maybe in another different life, another different time, things would have been different. But if I ever come back alive, I promise… Maybe next time…"_

"…_next time…"_

'…_Sasuke…'_

* * *

"In the end, no one could help him." Yuri turned around so that she is lying on her back, still lying on Minato's leg, turning to face Kakashi. "His mind snapped not long after that. As far as I knew, he died as well."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kakashi asked, uncomfortable at being compared to this…psycho former best friend of his sensei's younger sister.

"Because you could very well have turned out like him if you had continued the way that you used to be." Yuri stated bluntly. "It might sound cruel, but maybe Obito losing his arm is good in a way if it could help you to open your eyes. And unlike him, you at least had the courage to admit that you're wrong, and that you needed help." She closed her eyes. "The greatest weapon that a ninja can have, Kakashi, isn't the number of jutsus or even a good sword." She opened her eyes. "It is the power to believe."

"The power to believe…" Kakashi whispered.

Yuri sighed and glanced up at the stars in the night sky, raising her right hand so that it is partially covering her view of the night sky before letting her hand drop down, closing her eyes momentarily, feeling comforted by Minato's presence, and also the fact that he combed through her hair gently with his fingers, reassuring her in his own way that he'll always be there for her.

_Asuma-sensei told me something once, Yuri. It might be troublesome, but I'll repeat it to you now. The greatest weapon that a ninja can have isn't the number of jutsus at their disposal or even a powerful sword. It is the power to believe._

Yuri sighed softly and covered her eyes with her hand.

'_Shikamaru… I wasn't wrong, was I? We weren't wrong, were we? We didn't make the wrong decision, did we?'_

There is no answer. And she didn't expect one.

* * *

_A/N: I do believe that this is the longest chapter that I've ever done, __**ever! **__And maybe I've overpowered Yuri a little in this chapter…I will try to tone it down in future chapters. Also, regarding pairings, I do have some questions about that. In terms of personality, do you think Yuri and Obito are compatible? Or maybe I'll pair Yuri with someone older than her, say Genma? I really like that senbon prick for some reason._

_And before you guys kill me, let me explain. Yuri is already traumatized enough from the Fourth Great Shinobi War, then knowing that she is indirectly the cause behind all her friends dying just to give her a second chance in life. And I don't know, but I somehow feel that Obito is a little…too childish for her after watching the anime. In terms of personality and such, Yuri needs an older guy to lean on._

_Anyway, just tell me what you think, and I'll decide on pairings from your suggestions. It is __**only **__between Obito __**OR **__Genma. AND ABSOLUTELY NO KAKASHI! I had enough of this pairing to last me a lifetime, thank you very much! And furthermore, he reminds me too much of Sasuke! _

_Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter, and please read and review! Updates will be a little slow for a few months because of exams, so please do bear with me!_

_**Upcoming Stories:**_

_Death's Second Chance (Naruto)_

Fate sure loves fucking with one Namikaze Yuri, it seems like. She doesn't even know if she should hate herself or Kami for sending her back through time into the body of an Uchiha girl, sent to guide Uchiha Sasuke off the path of darkness and to stop the war from ever occurring. Genma/FemNaru

_Era of Darkness (Naruto)_

Akatsuki moved 16 years early, and took over the entire shinobi world, with Uchiha Madara at the helm of it all. In a world without freedom and in a time of darkness, a group of ninjas that were the few survivors fought to reclaim back their world. Extreme AU. Pairing undecided


	5. By Myself

**Notes: **Yuri and co. are twelve years old. Kyuubi isn't sealed in Yuri. Yuri had red hair. Yuri is posing as Minato's sister.

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing. No Kyuubi sealed in Yuri.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Five: By Myself**

"_Are you really going? What the hell were you even thinking?"_

"_The village can't give me anything anymore."_

"_So you're just going to leave like this?"_

"_No. Because for what it's worth, Yuri, you had become my best friend. And to achieve the power that Itachi said to get, I'm going to have to kill you here—"_

Namikaze Yuri woke with a start, breathing heavily with cold sweat adorning her brow. And when the redhead looked around at her surroundings, she groaned to herself, covering her eyes slightly with one hand.

"Another dream?" she muttered to herself. "How long must this continue?"

**XXXXXX**

_The Next Morning  
Namikaze Mansion_

The light clattering of pots and pans could be heard as Uzumaki Kushina, and soon to be Namikaze, busied herself in the kitchen by making breakfast. The warm aroma of breakfast wafted around the mansion, and like clockwork, Namikaze Minato stumbled into the kitchen, sniffing hungrily. The blonde man had always joked that his nose was always leading him to the kitchen.

"Morning." Kushina greeted with a smile as she placed down Minato's breakfast in front of him. "And just on time as usual."

"Thanks honey," said Minato with a smile as he begun to tuck in. He then turned serious. "Did you hear Yuri last night?"

Kushina sighed at that. "Yeah. Just like nearly every night," she admitted. "I think her dreams, or nightmares, are actually getting worse. Probably due to the stress of the war. She's always gone even before we have woken up, and never return until late at night. I'm worried."

Minato was silent for several moments. "She came to see me about two days ago after that argument that she had with Fugaku in the hospital," he informed his girlfriend.

Kushina raised a brow at that. Nearly the entire village had heard of that terrific row that Yuri had with the Uchiha clan head at the hospital when Team Minato was rushed to the hospital after their mission to destroy Kannabi Bridge. Medics had sedated Obito, and were currently trying to figure out what to do about that missing arm of his. And Uchiha Fugaku had marched down to the hospital when Yuri was there with her teammates, trying to excommunicate Obito from the clan, and to put out his eyes.

Unfortunately, he couldn't have picked a worse time to do that, as Yuri happened to be there. A not so happy Yuri who hadn't gotten much sleep for days, and had been pretty short tempered with just about everyone lately, even her two best friends. A shouting match had escalated between them both which nearly the entire hospital could hear, and Fugaku had actually walked away with shaking legs after that encounter. Neither Haku or Gaara would tell anyone what had actually transpired between them both, and all kinds of stories had been flying around the village ever since.

"Well, what did she want?" Kushina asked with curiosity.

Minato sighed, looking older than he really is. "She wants… Well, she wants to move out on her own," he said hesitantly, and Kushina blinked owlishly. "I think it partly has to do with the fact about the dreams that she's been getting of late, and also the fact that all the missions that she is getting sent on lately had kept her up at odd hours of the day, and I barely even see her anymore." He glanced at Kushina. "What do you think? Should I agree?"

Kushina sighed. "Minato, I think that even if you say no, Yuri will still go ahead and move out," she pointed out. "You might as well make it easier on both of you by saying yes. I know that you're worried about her, but just trust her to do what's right. She's not a child."

"I guess so." Minato mumbled. "I'll just get her to come back for Friday night dinners or something." He then frowned. "And Fugaku is really getting on my nerves! I swear… Nearly the entire clan are all bastards. How those _people _can be related with Obito is beyond me."

**XXXXXX**

_Hokage Monument  
Konohagakure no sato_

_Do I have to die again to save you?_

_If it is you, I believe that you can do this. If it is you…_

Sitting atop the Sandaime's head on the Hokage monument, Yuri tightened her arms around her legs, feeling the wind blow through her hair. It was early morning, and dawn was just breaking, thus, apart from the few ninjas on night shift the night before, there was hardly anyone awake.

'_Maybe I can't even do it.' _Yuri thought to herself, burying her face in her knees. _'What the hell was I even thinking? Maybe I should have just let Uchiha Madara kill me.'_

"It's a surprise to see someone else up here at this hour as well." A voice said behind Yuri, and she turned only to see a boy a few years older than herself wearing his hitai-ate wound around his head like a bandanna, his dark brunette hair falling down around his face, and he wore the standard navy blue jounin uniform of Konoha, with the green vest over it. "I'm Shiranui Genma." He introduced himself. "Do you mind?"

Yuri shook her head silently, and Genma sat down beside her. Her memories of her previous life were fading fast by this point in time, and she only vaguely remembered Genma as one of the exam proctors during her first chuunin exams, and that he is always chewing on a senbon. This time though, the younger version of Genma was chewing on a stick of Pocky instead.

"You seem a little down." Genma said suddenly, turning towards Yuri. "Something on your mind?" Yuri shrugged. "Or is it about your last mission?" Yuri turned towards Genma sharply, and the brunette smiled. "Everyone in the village knew who you are, Namikaze-san."

"Just call me Yuri." Yuri mumbled. "I hate formalities."

Genma smiled. "If you say so. And you're indeed just like Minato-san in the aspect that you hate formalities," he said. He then turned serious. "Are you okay? You look a little pale. Haven't you been getting enough sleep?"

"I manage just fine." Yuri mumbled. "I hate war. Nothing good ever comes out of it."

Genma sighed. "Well, I think the same as well. Just like every other, I am sure. But Konoha never wanted a war in the first place," he pointed out. "We have people and citizens to protect within the walls of Konoha, and we must do our duty." He glanced at Yuri. "I heard from my old teammate Raidou that Hokage-sama had been sending you out a lot on missions at all odd hours of the day of late."

Yuri looked sharply at Genma. The fact that she had been sent out on missions is usually left unknown. So just how—

"He injured his shoulder during our last mission two weeks ago, and thus, he's been stuck to desk duty for the time being." Genma explained, and Yuri 'ahhed', not showing surprise that Genma had managed to relay so much with just one sentence.

Yuri had that ability too, to say a very great deal with few words.

"You want to talk about it?" Genma asked gently. "I know that it's none of my business, and that I don't know you that well, but my friends have always said that I'm easy to talk to."

Yuri was silent for several moments. "Vengeance begets nothing but more pain and loneliness," she muttered to herself.

"Huh?" Genma blinked in confusion.

"My old instructor said that to me once." Yuri muttered, tightening her arms around her legs. "But still, like the idiot that he is, my friend still went down the path of vengeance." The redhead turned towards Genma. "He was my best friend, and my first friend. For reasons that I won't divulge, the village that I grew up in…didn't like me very much. As such, I don't have any friends growing up. I didn't even meet Haku and Gaara until a few years ago." Yuri said, adding half-truth and half-lie as she went along. "We were very much alike. I hadn't thought about him ever since I came to Konoha, but recently… I've been getting dreams of the past. He was my first friend. And probably, the first person to understand me."

"But something happened, didn't it?" Genma asked carefully, and Yuri nodded.

"Yeah. He betrayed us." Yuri stated. "That idiot… He has _everything. _People that adored him. A family that loved him and were later…taken away. People that wanted to be his friends. He had everything. But he threw them away. And for what? All for revenge. I wasn't able to stop him in the end."

Genma 'hmmed'. "His family was 'taken away'? What do you mean?" he asked.

Yuri was silent for several moments before speaking again. "Ever since the days of the first ninja, the lives of ninjas are always shrouded in darkness. There will always be ninjas posing as villains, when they are in actual fact, the real heroes. His brother was one of those. His brother won't be the first to do that. And he won't be the last either." The redhead glanced at Genma. "A civil war nearly broke out in my old village, one staged by his family. To stop that, his brother executed his entire clan with his own hands. Civil war is a terrible thing, Genma. It pit sibling against sibling. Lover against lover. Kin against kin. It brings nothing but more bloodshed. And when it is over, a true war will break out. To stop that, his brother did what any son would find difficult to do. And then, my friend betrayed the village. Things took a turn for the worst after his betrayal. And then, the war began. As far as I knew, he died too." She sighed. "Truthfully though, I think that he's better off dead than staying alive. I'm tired too. I'm tired of running after him all the time, trying to bring him back when he wants the exact opposite."

"What are you talking about?" Genma was confused.

"It's just… I can't do it. What the hell was I even thinking? Maybe I should have just died along with the rest of them."

Genma was about to say something when a voice interrupted his thoughts. "I knew it." The brunette turned around only to see Gaara and Haku behind him, both with frowns on their faces. "I thought that you would say something like that sooner or later." Haku sighed. The ice maiden then turned towards Genma. "Sorry. Genma-san, can you give us a few moments together with Yuri? This is kind of personal."

Genma nodded, and got to his feet before walking down the Hokage monument. Before he did so however, he turned and looked over his shoulder at Yuri before disappearing down the Hokage monument.

Gaara then turned towards Yuri the moment that Genma had vanished from their senses, sighing to himself. "You know that it wasn't your fault," he insisted. "None of it was. None of us blamed you for that, and you know that. Even if they were still alive, none of them would blame you."

Haku nodded. "He's right," she said. "We all knew what we're getting ourselves into. The war…right from the start, it's a fruitless endeavour. It's a losing and hopeless battle right from the start. But the others didn't give up their lives to give us a second chance at life as well as a second chance to defeat Uchiha Madara only for you to mope and waste your life away! You're insulting their sacrifices like that, Yuri."

"Maybe if I had never been a Jinchuuriki, and if Uchiha Madara had never gotten the Kyuubi from me, and if I had never existed, the war wouldn't have happened in the first place." Yuri mumbled, though she knew, in her heart, that it wasn't true.

"That is just nonsense!" Haku said, losing her patience. "The war would have happened even if you weren't there! Uchiha Madara had always been looking for an excuse to wipe Konoha off the face of the earth! Everyone knew that! And Sasuke? Even when we're kids, we all knew that he's a lost cause. He is too much absorbed in revenge to care about anything else. The fact that he had nearly killed Sakura back then should be proof enough to you. He is no longer the person that you knew when you saw him again after three years. Yuri, you know that as well."

Yuri finally looked up and looked them in the eye, her hands clenching into fists by her sides. "I have to—"

"Stop running away!" Haku nearly shouted, cutting her sentence off. The raven-haired girl chewed on her bottom lip before she turned her eyes towards Yuri, a pained look in them. "I understand…" She muttered. "I understand… Even if you try once more, you probably can't save them, right? You probably can't stop the war, right? You probably can't beat Uchiha Madara, right? It's that bad? Then think!" Haku knelt down to Yuri's eye level and grabbed her wrist, forcing the redhead to look at her in the eye. "You can't do anything alone. Isn't that what you had been telling Sasuke for years? Take your own advice for once. Let us help you, instead of taking everything upon your shoulders. All of us had lost someone important to us in that war…to Uchiha Madara. Let's fight together once more. Just like before." Haku's gaze saddened just then, and she turned her eyes away from Yuri. "Or do we really have to be a real family in order to fight together once more?"

There was silence for several moments.

"I have no right to save anyone. My friends… My comrades… My family… No one…" Yuri whispered.

"That isn't the point here!" said Gaara with irritation.

For the love of God! When Shikamaru and Neji have both said that Yuri is stubborn, they really do mean it. Changing her mind and manner of thinking is like trying to get a stubborn horse to wake up at two in the morning. Not happening.

"Why are you getting lost in your own memories? Shikamaru… Tsunade-san… Jiraiya-sama… Hinata… Neji… Kakashi… Sakura… Kiba… Lee… Shino… Kankuro… Temari… Mei-san…" Gaara trailed off. "I know that they'll forgive you anyway. Why are you blaming yourself for something that you had no control over? Is it because of the fact that you could have killed Sasuke when we're kids, and you didn't, and now, that fact is coming back to bite us in the ass?" The slight flinch from Yuri told Gaara that he had hit the nail on the head. "If you did kill him back then, you wouldn't be the Yuri that I knew, would I? It has been years since then. Why are you still thinking about that? Why…?" He trailed off. "Just why…? Why must we lose to a memory?"

Yuri closed her eyes briefly. Gaara is never one to speak much, and even if he does, it is never longer than three sentences. This is the first time that Yuri had heard him speak this long and this much. And his words have dragged up a memory of a conversation that Yuri had with Shikamaru once before he had died on that disastrous mission.

_Why must we lose to a memory?_

Yuri closed her eyes briefly, clenching her hands into fists. _'But…I let you die…'_

_Really…poor little me…_

'_Huh?'_

_Yuri. Why can't you forgive yourself?_

'_I…'_

_You're the Child of Prophecy, brat. And I know for a fact that you're not a coward. No student of mine is a coward. _

'_Sensei…'_

_Troublesome. We've already moved on, Yuri. Why can't you? I mean, you defeated Pein, didn't you? There is nothing that you can't do as long as you put your mind to it._

'_Shikamaru…'_

_You tried to protect your friends, Yuri. That is enough for me. You make me proud. You're more of a ninja than I could ever be. That's why… Stop blaming yourself for this._

'_Kakashi-sensei…'_

_Why are you still trying to blame yourself?_

'_Can sins…be forgiven?'_

_Hmph. I wonder._

'_Neji?'_

_This is something that you have to figure out yourself, my friend. As this is something which every ninja has to find the answer to at some point in their lives._

Yuri opened her eyes again and turned towards Gaara. "…Gaara."

The redhead in question raised an eyebrow in response.

"Are sins…ever forgiven?"

Gaara snorted at this whilst Haku looked on with confusion at this strange question. "I wonder," said the Godaime Kazekage. "I've never tried."

Yuri's eyes widened at this. _'Tried… Never tried…'_

_Yuri, people like Sasuke – avengers, became that because they kept living in the past. And thus, they could not see ahead of them. You are better than that. Don't let Jiraiya-sama's death get you down. Don't become something that you despised more than anything else. No matter what the village had done to you in the past, you had never retaliated. You can't change the past. That is the cold hard truth. But you can change the future._

Yuri closed her eyes. _'Iruka-sensei…'_

"It wasn't your fault." Haku insisted. "No one blames you. We didn't. Therefore, you shouldn't blame yourself as well. We still have a chance to prevent it from ever happening in the future. Things in the Uchiha clan might be too far gone in order to be saved, but—"

"It is still not too late, right?" Yuri injected, and her two friends blinked owlishly. The redhead smiled slightly at them. "Seems like I've been wallowing too much in self-misery that I've nearly forgotten just why I became a ninja, and the path of the ninja that I've always chosen. Everyone…" She trailed off. "I can see them again. Just once more…" She got to her feet slowly. "Just once more… I feel like I can try again. Just to see them once more, I can give it all I've got. Just once more." She repeated.

Haku smiled at that, before her eyes widened when she saw the slight edge of a silver harmonica peeking out of Yuri's pocket. She recognised that harmonica, as that was something that both Neji and Shikamaru have bought for Yuri as a birthday present when they were placed in a team together during the war.

'_You've always been with us, haven't you?' _Haku mused, staring up at the clouds, shielding her eyes from the sun as she did so. She smiled. _'Thank you.'_

**XXXXXX**

_One Week Later  
Konohagakure no sato_

"This is a nice place." Kushina was saying a week later as both she and her fiancé stood in the middle of an empty two-room apartment in the ninja residential district of Konoha. The redhead woman then turned towards Yuri who is whipping her head left and right, surveying the apartment. The apartment that they are now standing in is recommended to Yuri by Genma whom she had been spending lots of time with during her free time of late, much to Kushina's amusement, and Minato's dismay. "Not too much noise, spacious enough, and also near enough to the market." She added.

"Yuri, are you sure you really want to move out?" Minato asked again for the umpteenth time that day. "The Namikaze mansion is large enough for three of us, and—"

"I have no wish to play gooseberry." Yuri interrupted. "Besides, both of you will be getting married in a week, aren't you? I don't think you would like me to be intruding on your personal time. Furthermore, my dreams have stopped…mostly."

"And if it wasn't because of that, I would never have allowed you to move out." Kushina muttered. She then turned towards Minato. "Minato, just let Yuri do as she wishes. She'll know what to do. Though…" Kushina turned towards Yuri. "I want you back every Friday night for dinners."

Yuri growled. "Fine mum," she muttered, and Kushina giggled. "Though is it even wise? Having your wedding during the middle of the war, and just when both sides are extremely high strung?"

"It'll be fine. Besides, having a joyous occasion in the middle of the war should cheer up some of our comrades." Minato assured his 'sister'. "They've been so down recently."

Yuri sighed.

**XXXXXX**

"Do you, Uzumaki Kushina, take Namikaze Minato as your lawfully wedded husband, to love and care for, to cherish and respect, until death do you part?" The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hizuren who had been acting as the minister asked.

"I do." Kushina said, smiling, her eyes looking straight into Minato's own sapphire ones like no one else mattered, and that they're the only ones present.

Ninja weddings never really go the traditional way that most civilian weddings do, as the ninjas usually added in their own little spin on it. As was tradition among the ninjas of Konoha, only the bride and groom were all dressed up. They were in the middle of a war after all; they have to keep as many ninjas as battle ready as possible.

Yuri had been asked to be Kushina's bridesmaid alongside Rin, and the brunette had taken the chance to drag Yuri clothes shopping, much to the redhead's dismay, and Kushina's amusement. Rin had complained that she never saw Yuri in anything but her usual ninja outfit that consists of a black T-shirt with a white sleeveless vest worn over it, complete with black baggy pants and the usual standard black ninja sandals, with black fingerless gloves. Unlike most ninjas, Yuri had worn her hitai-ate around her neck, with a short sword (kodachi), hanging from a belt holster at the back of her waist.

Yuri had shown up in a dark blue kimono with white leaf imprints on it, her hair styled and done up in slight curls, being held up at the back of her head, with the rest of the curls falling down her back. Haku was dressed similarly, only in white instead, whilst Gaara had worn black, which looked quite striking on him.

"Do you, Namikaze Minato, take Uzumaki Kushina as your lawfully wedded wife, to love and care for, to cherish and respect, until death do you part?"

"I do." Minato answered, smiling goofily.

"And now, with the powers vested in me by kami, I hereby pronounce you as man and wife," said Hizuren, smiling from ear to ear, and the cheers went up. "You may now kiss the bride."

The cheers grew louder as Minato did so, and the crowd soon dispersed slightly for the after wedding food that the Akimichi restaurants have made for the wedding. The food was in the form of a buffet, thus, everyone could eat whilst mingling with the others. Standing by one of the tables that were covered by a white linen cloth, a glass half-filled with champagne in one hand, Yuri scanned her eyes over the crowd only to see Rin together with Obito and Kakashi. The two boys were dressed similarly in black, and Yuri felt a pang in her heart as she saw that the right kimono sleeve of Obito's kimono was limp.

Minato had placed a seal on Obito's amputated arm to prevent the wound from healing over until the medics could figure out what to do, or until Tsunade had returned to Konoha. Jiraiya is currently trying to locate his old teammate, but there isn't any news of her so far. Yuri frowned when her thoughts went towards the Sannin. She had been so preoccupied with the war of late that she hadn't thought once about Orochimaru.

She hadn't had any encounters with the Snake Sannin ever since her arrival, as the man prefers to keep himself holed up in his labs than mingling about with the others. Yuri then frowned. She is keeping an eye on him, if she has anything to say about it.

"Having fun?" said a voice behind her just then, and Yuri turned only to see a smiling Genma behind her, dressed in a dark blue kimono. For once, a bandanna wasn't wound around his head, and he had a boy dressed in a black kimono standing beside him. Genma raised a brow as he studied Yuri from head to toe, and the redhead sighed.

"I bet you're going to laugh anyway." Yuri muttered.

"Quite the contrary, Yuri," said Genma. "It looks good on you. By the way, this is my friend, Namiashi Raidou." He tugged on the arm of the boy beside him.

"Nice to meet you." Yuri inclined her head towards the brunette who nodded back politely.

"So you're the one that Genma was talking about," said Raidou with a grin. "I thought that he was joking when he said that he met you atop the Hokage monument, and that you both became friends from there."

"So, have you settled in your new apartment okay?" Genma asked with concern. "Anything that you need done there?"

"All settled in. Haku and Gaara helped with that. And so did my brother, and now sister-in-law," said Yuri, jerking one thumb over her shoulder at the mentioned four.

"Ah, the infamous Team Ryuu," said Raidou with a nod, glancing at Haku and Gaara who were both talking with Nara Shikaku and his two teammates. "And before I forget, Hokage-sama had asked to see you after the wedding." He added, and Yuri blinked. "Don't know what it's about, but it seems important."

Yuri nodded slowly. "Alright."

* * *

Yuri stared blankly at Sarutobi Hizuren. "Excuse me?" she asked slowly.

Her hearing must be going bad. Either that, or she had misheard things. Because there is no way that—

The Third Hokage sighed and took a puff on his pipe. "I'm moving you out of Team Ryuu for the time being, and placing you in Team Falcon, which currently consists of only Namiashi Raidou and Shiranui Genma, after their third teammate was killed during the war a few months ago."

Okay, she definitely isn't hearing things.

Yuri pinched her nose to lessen her headache. "Mind explaining why?" she asked wearily. "You know that Team Ryuu is one of the best combat teams in Konoha, and with the war going the way that it is…"

"Precisely." Hizuren interrupted. "You, Haku and Gaara made up one of the best teams in Konoha. Your team can be anything that we need to – tracking, demolition, assassination, etc. Let me explain my reasoning. Team Falcon is listed as a combat and tracking team. Genma is a short ranged specialist, whilst Raidou is a long ranged specialist. And like you, Genma specialises in wind jutsu, whilst Raidou has affinities in lightning and water. After the loss of their teammate, the two of them are only sent on scouting missions. And at a time like this when we need all the arms that we can get, this is a definite big no-no. Your specialisations in fuuinjutsu, demolition and assassination will help them to get the experience that they both require in missions of that calibre. Up until now, they have only been sent on scouting and tracking missions, even before the loss of their teammate. I'll be moving Gekkou Hayate temporarily into Team Ryuu in order for him to get the combat experience that he need."

Yuri was silent, her tactical mind working overtime as she figured out what the Hokage was aiming for. "You're creating another First Response Team," she said, and the Hokage nodded. "Two First Response Teams in Konoha at a time like this would help move the war in our favour."

"I'll be sending Minato on another 'total wipe out' mission in another month or so," said Hizuren, moving several papers about on his desk. "Now where did I put that paper?" He found the paper that he is searching for at last. "At least until he returns from his honeymoon with Kushina. And if things goes as planned, Iwa will probably throw in the towel soon enough. They're suffering way too many causalities. If they continue the way that they are, they'll probably get wiped out soon enough. Even Onoki should realise this."

Yuri sighed. "Not like I had much of a choice here," she muttered. "So that explains why both Genma and Raidou had such weird looks on their faces earlier." She then sighed and turned towards the Hokage. "And? What is our first mission as Team Falcon?"

"Sharp as always, Yuri," said Hizuren with a nod. "Jiraiya had managed to track down the whereabouts of Tsunade in a gambling town north-west of Blue Craig. I want you to find her and bring her back here. Not only for Obito's sake. But also for the large number of causalities that have been turning up during the war. And also…" The Hokage sighed. "Her being in Konoha might get the Uchiha off my back, as they've been pressuring me to remove the Senju seat from the council. Since 'Tsunade-hime is the last Senju alive, and she isn't here anyway'."

Yuri frowned. "Can they even do that?" she asked.

"Usually, they can't. But the civilian council has been backing them up as well," said Hizuren with a sigh. "I can't wait for this war to be over, and to hand the mantle of Hokage over to someone younger that is able to deal with the council." He glanced at Yuri. "Anyway, those are your orders. Bring back Senju Tsunade with any method that you deem fit, though I'll prefer it if she comes back alive in one piece."

Yuri grunted. "I'm not making any promises here," she warned.


	6. The Slug Sannin

I am back! And sorry for the wait! For some strange reason, I can't seem to get into writing like how I used to. Stress from school, maybe? So some reviewers have been asking me about romantic development. It _will not start _until Yuri is at least fifteen or sixteen, thank you very much! I do not want to rush her into any romantic relationships when she is still hurting from the loss of her friends!

**Notes: **Yuri and co. are twelve years old. Kyuubi isn't sealed in Yuri. Yuri had red hair. Yuri is posing as Minato's sister.

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing. No Kyuubi sealed in Yuri.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Six: The Slug Sannin**

Like with every ninja village, Konoha has plenty of training grounds for their ninjas to use in order to train themselves up. And especially during this time of war, the training grounds were being utilised almost every single day. The regular training grounds were accessible to nearly every single ninja in Konoha – regardless of rank.

But the training grounds that the jounins and the ANBUs of Konoha used for training is tucked away in a rather deserted area of Konoha behind the Senju Forest that surrounds the village. This is so that the genins or civilians of Konoha won't stumble upon a jounin or an ANBU training, and getting themselves hurt in the process, as when a high-level ninja like a jounin or an ANBU train, they tend to throw out all kinds of dangerous jutsus or techniques.

And it is in one of those jounin training grounds that one could find Team Falcon that now consisted of Namiashi Raidou, Shiranui Genma and Namikaze Yuri. Training ground area 38 had been specially allocated to their team, and it had seen better days, with the training ground all tore up, and discarded kunais and shurikens could be seen all over the place.

Namiashi Raidou grinned at Yuri. "We've heard from Hokage-sama," he said, a grin on his face. "I doubt that your teammates are very happy though."

Yuri laughed tiredly. As a matter of fact, Raidou did indeed hit the nail on the head, as Haku and Gaara were less than pleased about the fact that Yuri would be moved out of their team temporarily, and that someone less experienced and whom they do not know as well would be taking her place on Team Ryuu. And naturally, the position of team captain had hereby fallen to Gaara.

"Well, welcome aboard." Genma said with a smile. "I guess that introductions aren't necessary, seeing as how we already knew each other."

"Well, onto business, I guess," said Yuri briskly, removing the mission scroll from her pack. "We have our first mission as Team Falcon to retrieve the Sannin, Senju Tsunade, and to bring her home." She then grimaced. "She's going to be a tough nut to crack, from what I'd heard from Hokage-sama. He also stated that we're welcomed to use any methods we deem necessary to bring her home, though he prefers it if she comes back alive in one piece."

The two boys exchanged looks with each other before turning back towards Yuri. Genma then coughed into his hand. "Great first mission, isn't it?" he said sarcastically, and Yuri giggled. "Let's hope that she don't start punting us over the mountains or something once we'd found her."

"Where is she anyway?" Raidou asked with a frown. "And why does Hokage-sama wants Tsunade-sama back now?"

"Well, there is a temporary lull in the war for now, as with Suna's withdrawal from the war, and Kumo's surrender, Iwa has lost quite a fair bit of manpower." Yuri explained, and Genma nodded, the bandanna-clad teen having the same tactical mindset as Yuri. "Now both sides are worn-out and equally exhausted – both mentally and physically. This war is nearly at the end. There is probably going to be just one more last battle to determine the victor, and it isn't going to be pretty. Hokage-sama wants Tsunade-sama back not just for the sake of all the injured, but also partly for Obito's sake."

Realisation dawned on the two boys just then. "Oh. That arm of his." Raidou realised, and Yuri nodded.

"My brother had temporarily moved Obito in with him, as Obito's family had all but disowned him upon hearing about the outcome of his last mission." Yuri explained. "They think that he probably won't be able to function as a ninja any longer which is utter bull." She scowled. "There are ninjas who manage their careers just fine with one arm. Anyway, the only medic in the world who might have an idea of how to restore Obito's arm is only Tsunade-sama. And with the Uchiha clan head making death threats over Obito's head, my brother think it best if Obito stayed with him until we return with Tsunade-sama, as there have been demands from _Uchiha-sama—" _Yuri nearly spat the word out. "—to put out Obito's eyes." She muttered something incoherent beneath her breath. "Bunch of ninja politics, really." She gestured her hand around. "That's why we have to find Tsunade-sama as soon as possible."

"Well, I get the urgency of things, but do you even know where she is?" Genma asked curiously.

Yuri nodded. "Jiraiya-sama had sent word back. She's been sighted in the major gambling town northwest of Blue Craig. If we hurry, we might be able to catch her before she leaves. And to further convince her return, my brother had written a rather long letter to her." She produced another scroll from her pocket bearing the Namikaze clan symbol.

Genma frowned. "Wait a moment. Blue Craig?" he questioned. "That's quite close to Iwa's borders! And the gambling town that you're talking about should be Kasuji-Cho. It's one of the largest gambling cities on the continent, coupled with the usual red light districts as well."

Yuri sighed. "That's why we'll be going as civilians for this mission, _not _ninjas," she responded. "But still, we are to bring our weapons with us in case of trouble. Last that I'd heard, Kasuji-Cho is crawling with Iwa-nins. Is two hours sufficient for you both to bring everything that you need?" She received twin nods in return. "And do the both of you knew the basic sealing technique?" Nods again. "Okay, we'll meet at the front gates of Konoha in two hours."

* * *

Two hours later, the three teens (well, two teens and one pre-teen really) met up at the front gates of Konoha, all dressed in plain civilian clothing – probably the _only one _that they each possessed. As a rule, ninjas don't really possess civilian clothing. Even the formal clothing that they possessed for formal functions seemed to be more appropriate for ninja attire.

Yuri was dressed in a black T-shirt with a black and white checkered mini-skirt, with shorts worn beneath it for modesty, a white coat that reaches to her thighs worn over it. A roll of bandage concealed the seals on her left arm, and her ninja pouch was concealed cleverly. Genma was wearing a white collared shirt and black pants, with a dark blue coat. Raidou was dressed in a similar fashion, only in black. And all three are wearing sneakers on their feet – a type of footwear popular with the civilians.

Yuri scanned the two boys from head-to-toe, ensuring that their ninja pouches were concealed from sight before she nodded, satisfied. "Alright, before we set off, we're going to need fake names," she said. "Our names – all three of us, in fact, are too well-known. And I'm going to have to henge my hair. I'm going as Izumi Natsumi. Genma?"

Genma pondered for a moment, removing the Pocky from in between his lips. "Kannagi Yakumo." He answered.

"Saitou Raiha." Raidou answered.

Yuri nodded before she focused some chakra, and poof, her hair colour had changed to midnight blue – the exact same shade that Hinata's was. The now blue haired girl turned towards her two companions. "Alright. Let's go."

**XXXXXX**

It took the trio three days of travel before arriving at Kasuji-Cho.

And when Genma had said that Kasuji-Cho is one of the largest gambling cities on the continent, if not the largest, he definitely wasn't kidding. It was probably ten times larger than Tanzaku-Gai, the gambling town that is worth two days travel from Konoha, and also largely populated. The trio arrived at Kasuji-Cho just as the sun was setting, and they were all clearly relieved to finally arrive at their destination, as they've been running into Iwa-nins continuously ever since the second day of travel ever since they've neared the borders of Iwa.

"Should we start looking now, or should we leave it to tomorrow?" Raidou asked as they jostled through the large crowd in the streets, his eyes spotting an Iwa-nin or two in the crowds as they did so.

"Now." Genma and Yuri both said simultaneously, before blinking and looking at each other, and looking away again.

Raidou grinned. "Alright, now then," he said cheerfully. "From what I know of Tsunade-sama, she's more likely to be in either casinos or bars. I'll check out the casinos."

"We'll check out the bars then." Genma supplied. "We'll meet back up at the entrance of Kasuji-Cho in three hours."

"And if we found her?" Raidou frowned. "We have no way of contacting each other, right?"

Yuri sighed. "I thought that this might happen, thus, I've prepared this," she said, pulling out three small dark blue gems hanging on black cords from her pocket. The three gems seemed to be some sort of crystal, and Genma's sharp eyes noted a small seal that seemed to be inscribed in the gem itself. "When I was partnered with Haku and Gaara, they often complained that we have difficulty communicating on the battlefield if we get separated, as summons could be intercepted easily, and it isn't fast enough. Thus, I've made these. These are special sealing gems that are only accessible to seal masters." Yuri explained, handing two of the three out to the boys. "Focus your chakra into each of these gems."

"Alright." Raidou said doubtfully, putting one finger on the gem that he was handed, and focusing his chakra into it. To his surprise, the gem seemed to absorb his chakra, before he moved onto the other two. Genma and Yuri followed his example. "Now what?"

"Now, these three gems can only be used and accessed by us three." Yuri explained, slipping the black cord over her head, so that the gem now rested just below her collarbone. "If you want to contact us, just focus your chakra into it and either speak whatever message you wanted to be passed on, or you can just envision the place that you want to meet us at, and we'll see it clearly enough."

"Alright, problem solved," said Genma. "Let's go."

* * *

"Did you see this woman around?" Yuri was asking two hours later, showing the bartender the photo of Tsunade that she had acquired from Minato. Beside her, Genma looked rather bored, but his intelligent eyes were alert, and were flickering from side to side, on the lookout for any Iwa-nins.

The brunette sighed, shifting his stick of Pocky in his mouth from the left to the right, expecting for the answer to be in the negative…again. This is already the twenty-sixth bar that they've tried, and it's not even _half _of the bars that Kasuji-Cho had.

"Yeah. She's right back there," said the bartender, jerking one thumb over his shoulder at the only occupied cubicle. Genma blinked. He definitely didn't expect to find the famous Sannin so easily. He had thought for sure that she would have already moved on. "That woman had already drunk at least five bottles of sake, and didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. I'll let you in, but I can't let you have any sake. Minor rules."

Yuri nodded before she turned towards Genma who nodded. He turned away from the bartender and focused his chakra into his gem, envisioning the image of the bar that they're in. It didn't seem to take Raidou longer than fifteen minutes before he'd arrived, panting and huffing for breath.

"That was fast." Genma blinked. "Even we found it difficult to navigate through the streets earlier."

"I went through the alleyways." Raidou explained tiredly. "Where is she?"

Genma gestured silently towards the only occupied cubicle in the bar where all three could see a blonde woman wearing a green jacket drinking sake, several empty sake bottles on the table in front of her. Her companion, a black haired teen who doesn't seem to be older than Genma and Raidou was with her, trying to stop the blonde from drinking more. A pig wearing a red jacket and a beaded necklace was in her arms, oinking pitifully.

"That's her, I guess," said Yuri with a nod. "Come on."

Both boys then followed her as she walked towards the occupied table. The two women looked up as the three teens approached. "Senju Tsunade?" Yuri stated more than questioned. "Could we have a word?"

"You already have." Tsunade snapped, a slight flush on her cheeks being the only sign of the consumption of alcohol. "Who are you kids?"

The three teens exchanged looks before Yuri turned back towards the two women who were looking on suspiciously. Yuri then produced her Leaf hitai-ate from within her pocket, showing it to the two women before moving her hitai-ate out of sight quickly. Kasuji-Cho is crawling with Iwa-nins after all. She can't be too careful.

"Leaf-nins?" said Tsunade's companion curiously. "What brings you here?" She then took in the looks on their faces before smiling. "Oh. I'm Katou Shizune. I'm Tsunade-sama's apprentice. Why don't you sit down?"

The three teens did so, sitting directly opposite the two women, with Yuri sitting in between Genma and Raidou. For a long time, not one of the five spoke until Tsunade broke the uneasy silence.

"What are your names?" Tsunade asked suspiciously. "For Sarutobi-sensei to send kids this young out to a town that is crawling with Iwa-nins, you must be good."

"Shiranui Genma."

"Namiashi Raidou. Nice to meet you."

"Namikaze Yuri."

The eyebrows of the two women shot up at their names. "Namikaze?" Tsunade echoed. "I've heard about you, and Jiraiya told me about you. You're Minato's younger sister?"

Yuri nodded. Looks like Jiraiya didn't tell Tsunade about the fact that she time travelled. "We're here for a mission, Tsunade-sama," she said. "The Hokage wishes to have you home, and he sent us to take you back."

"Not happening." Tsunade said, waving one hand about uncaringly before drinking directly from the sake bottle in front of her.

Shizune was scathed. "Tsunade-sama!" she squeaked.

"And just why exactly?" Raidou questioned. "Konoha needs your help. We're currently in the middle of a war. I don't know what issues that you had with Konoha, but you'll seriously leave tens of thousands of people to die?"

"It's not my problem," said Tsunade uncaringly.

Yuri who had only known both her teammates for a little less than a week knew Raidou to be a pretty calm and even-tempered guy, always cheerful. Thus, she is a little startled to see a look of pure anger appear on his face. "You—"

"Raidou." Yuri interrupted, putting one hand on Raidou's arm to calm him down. She then turned towards Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama, I know what issues that you had with Konoha, as the Hokage told me so."

"Then you should understand why I refused to return."

"Before you say that, you should read this," said Yuri, producing Minato's letter from her pocket and handing it to Tsunade. "It's from my brother. He told me to give this to you if you refused to return."

Tsunade took the scroll from Yuri curiously, breaking the wax seal on it, and reading it carefully. After several moments, she closed her eyes for several moments. "I see. Obito, huh?" she mused. "I'm not surprised that Fugaku tried to put out his eyes. The entire clan are bastards like that."

"At least help Obito if you don't want to help the others," said Genma. "He's never done anything wrong but tried to save his team. Would you really just sit by and watch as the Uchiha clan get what they want?"

Tsunade closed her eyes before opening them again. "Kid, I've lived through a war before. These things happen in war. I'm sure that there is a medic that can help him in Konoha. Konoha had always been at the fore when it comes to medic ninjutsu. You don't need me there. And even if it couldn't, Obito just has to accept his fate. This is life as a ninja. Even you knew that."

Genma gaped at hearing those cruel words come out of the mouth of the world's greatest medic. "How could you—?"

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune reprimanded, shocked at the cruel words too. "You don't have to put it that way!"

"People are _dying _in there!" Raidou finally exploded. "Too many, in fact! Every day, at least ten of our shinobis would be returning to the village in body bags or even as dog tags! Are you a medic or not? To just sit by and watch as people die, and you refuse to lift a single finger to help them!"

"Raidou, calm down!" Genma hissed.

"Tsunade-sama." Yuri interrupted, and all four turned towards her. The now currently blue haired kunoichi had a look of calmness on her face, not seemingly affected by Tsunade's cruel words. "It is true that war is cruel. And it is also true that as ninjas, we are nothing more than the weapons of war for our Lord, the daimyo, and also the Hokage. They order it, we kill, we kidnap, we betray, we steal, we do whatever that they wishes of us. That is a ninja's life. But we do all these in order to protect our home. Can you tell me, Tsunade-sama? Why did you become a ninja? Is what you're doing now protecting your home? Protecting the home that your grandfather and granduncle have founded and died for? Can you tell me if they would be proud of you if they can see you now? Would your brother and fiancé be proud of you? Are you still the sister or the lover that they knew?"

Tsunade closed her eyes, a look of pain on her face. Yuri's blunt words had dragged up all the fears and doubts that she had buried deep in her heart ever since she'd left the village all those years back. The life of a ninja may be cruel, but Yuri can be even more so.

Genma looked from one face to the other before deciding to add in his own input. He is the team captain of Team Falcon after all. It is his responsibility to make sure that the mission succeeds. He might let Yuri mostly take the lead of the mission, as she has a strong tactical mind, and any plan that she comes up with is bound to succeed, but he still has a duty to perform.

"Tsunade-sama, there was once when I was in the hospital visiting a friend who had nearly died on the frontlines against Iwa," said Genma, and the blonde Sannin looked up. "And when I was there, I overheard a medic trying to comfort a sobbing woman who looked to be about six months pregnant at that point in time. The medic told the woman that he is sorry, that he couldn't save her husband, as his wounds were too severe. Then he told the woman 'if only Tsunade-sama is here'. She is the world's greatest medic, he said, and there is no injury or illness that she couldn't cure."

Tsunade stayed silent.

"The Third Great Shinobi War had been dragging on for nearly six years now," said Yuri, adding her input. "How many people do you think have died, fighting in the name of Konoha? And how many people do you think could have survived if only you were there?" Tsunade flinched and closed her eyes. "By not being there when you could have, and for not saving them when you could have, you indirectly caused the deaths of hundreds of our countrymen." Yuri studied the shivering Sannin for several moments. "I am sorry if I sound cruel, but you need to hear this. You need to hear the truth of what I truly feel and see. The people of Konoha might feel sorry for you because of your loss, and the Hokage and your teammates probably never said this to your face because they hoped that you would return one day, as the blood of the Senju runs in your veins. It is true what Genma had said, that you are the world's greatest medic. But you didn't gain that title on your own."

Tsunade flinched, feeling the guilt starting to kick in. Why did she feel this way now? Jiraiya had said similar words to her before when he tried to convince her to return, but she had never felt this way. So then just why? Why is it when it is this girl who is saying all these words that Tsunade felt like the lowest person in the world? Is it because her eyes had that same look that Tsunade had? The look of a person who knew loss, pain and betrayal like no other?

Yuri narrowed her eyes. "The village helped you. People die in war, Tsunade-sama. Lives are so fragile. Isn't that the reason why you become a medic? Just for the one simple desire to prevent more loss of life?" Tsunade looked up at Yuri through wide eyes. "People die easily. Lives can be snuffed out so easily. People die in missions and wars. They die in surprisingly simple ways. I've lost people who I cared for to war as well. I'm sure that nearly every single ninja in Konoha does, and maybe even some of the civilians. Thus, I understand your feelings. I dropped into depression for a while after one of my good friends died trying to save me." Genma turned a bewildered look at Yuri. "But later, I realised that that isn't what he would want for me. He would want me to continue living my life. It takes a real person to be able to overcome that loss and pain, and to become stronger from that. The phoenix of legend always emerges from the ashes of rebirth, no matter how many times it dies. Can you be like the phoenix, Tsunade-sama? That no matter what happens, you'll keep on moving forward. I'm sure that's what your loved ones would want for you too."

"You know the pain of losing a loved one. Therefore, don't make others suffer the same pain that you did." Yuri sighed, standing up from the table, and both Genma and Raidou followed suit. Both women then looked at them. "I've said my piece, Tsunade-sama. Think about it. I'll give you one night to think about it. I hope to see you at the gates tomorrow morning, willing to return to your birthplace. Not for me to drag you back by force."

"Yuri…is it?" Tsunade said at last, and Yuri stopped in her tracks, turning towards the blonde medic who was fiddling with her fingers. "I don't need one night. I'll give you my answer now."

Shizune smiled. "Tsunade-sama, does this means that—"

"I'll return with you to Konoha. Now," said Tsunade, smiling a small soft smile. "Your blunt and frank words are just what I need to hear. You remind me of just why I became a medic. You remind me of what Dan and Nawaki have fought for. Of what Sarutobi-sensei, Jiraiya and all the others are fighting for now." She smiled at the trio. "I'll return with you."

**XXXXXX**

_One Week Later  
Konoha Hospital_

Tsunade sighed, looking in between the two reports held in either hand. The hospital had undergone a severe revamping ever since Tsunade had returned, and had discovered just how downhill the medic system in Konoha had gotten, and she is _not_ pleased. The blonde medic didn't even have a chance to look into Obito's condition until a week after her return, when Rin and Kakashi have both dragged Obito with them to the hospital for his usual weekly check-up after losing his arm.

The nerves and tendons in his arm have been severed cleanly, as Yuri had used a wind blade to do so in order to avoid damaging his arm any further, and also to prevent blood loss. But as it is, none of the other corpses available in Konoha has any suitable arm transplants for Obito, as not only must the nerves and tendons be of the same size as Obito's, the blood type must be suitable too.

And thus, Obito has to make do with the next best solution: a prosthetic arm. It is something that Tsunade had came up with on her travels during the war when she had came across a six-year-old child who had lost both his legs after stepping onto a landmine by mistake. It involves a lot of medical research and knowledge poured into it, along with the use of a seal so that the person could use that prosthetic limb like a real one. Thus, on that day itself, as Minato was called away to the frontlines for one final battle and stand against Iwa, the remainders of team seven were gathered in Tsunade's private office that had an attached treatment room, waiting as Tsunade attached the prosthetic limb to whatever was left of Obito's arm.

"It seems to work fine." Obito was muttering half-an-hour later as he flexed the fingers of his prosthetic arm. "It doesn't feel strange at all."

"If I didn't know any better, I'll really think that that is your real arm, Obito," said Rin, poking at the prosthetic arm with interest, and leaning in close to examine it carefully. Kakashi was also looking over her shoulder.

"Well, Obito, you have to come into the hospital monthly for checkups, and to ensure that your arm is functioning like normal," said Tsunade cheerfully, scribbling some notes into her clipboard. "You can give your sensei a surprise once he gets back from his mission, seeing you with two working arms."

Obito grinned at the blonde Sannin. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama!" he said.

"Thank Yuri," said Tsunade, not looking up from her work. "She is the one who had came up with the idea for the seal on that prosthetic arm, as all previous versions failed. And I think that it's about time that the both of you stop blaming her for Obito's loss of his arm." She looked sternly at Kakashi and Rin over the clipboard. "You might act normal around her, but that girl isn't a jounin for nothing. She could tell that you blame her for your teammate's arm. I've read the reports from back then. If she didn't cut off Obito's arm, he would have died instead. That's why, stop blaming her."

**XXXXXX**

The six battalion squads that Konoha had sent against Iwa for one final stand came back victorious, and being greeted as heroes by the entire village as cheers went up. The final stand made against Iwa had practically ravaged their forces, so much so that Iwa could no longer hope to stand a chance of victory against Konoha any longer. It would not be long before they surrendered.

But like with every war, the aftermath was _horrible. _

Nearly every single room in the hospital was full, and the medic-nins were being run ragged, trying to treat them all. And like with every war, Konoha had run up several debts, as during wartime, all missions requested by clients were stopped. Thus, as a result, every single available ninja were currently sent on as many missions as they could possibly handle, with the civilians being advised against requesting for D-rank missions.

Finally, two weeks after the final stand against Iwa, the Third Hokage summoned for Team Falcon, Minato and Kushina into his office after a meeting that he had with the war council.

"I've just received these," said Hizuren, showing the five ninjas in his office two scrolls – one white and one black. The black scroll bore the seal of the Tsuchikage and the Land of Earth, whilst the white scroll bore the seal of the daimyo of the Fire Country. "Apparently, Iwa had finally decided to surrender, after having their forces practically demolished during the last battle, mostly credited to Minato and his Hiraishin." Minato grinned weakly. "And that means that the war is finally over. Also, Suna had sent us a message, asking for a possible alliance."

"Well, I'm not surprised," said Kushina with a frown. "They've suffered the most, compared to the other nations involved in this war, despite withdrawing out of it. And with their Sandaime Kazekage disappearing sometime around six months back, they'll be desperate for some sort of backing."

"I don't really know how they run things in Suna, but am I right to assume that it's the council who is running things now?" Yuri questioned and Hizuren nodded. "Have they picked their new Kazekage?"

"Not yet, but they'll be making a decision within the week," said Hizuren. "And that is what brings me to the five of you." He got five owlish blinks. "Kushina, I need you to make a trip to Suna to sign the alliance agreement. I'll be sending Shizune with you. Minato did mention that you've been feeling ill recently?"

Kushina nodded hesitantly. "I'm sure that it's nothing much though," she insisted. "Probably just the changes in the weather or something."

"Maybe. You should undergo a complete check-up once you've returned to Konoha," said Hizuren. "Also, Minato, I am proud to announce that you'll be named as the Yondaime Hokage next week." He grinned at a bewildered Minato. "Congratulations, Yondaime-sama!"

"Seriously?" Minato asked, a bewildered look on his face. "Well… I… Thanks, Hokage-sama! I'll do my best!"

"That's Sarutobi-sama to you now, I think." Hizuren teased. "It'll be finalised after Kushina and Yuri both return from their missions. And that brings me to the three of you…" He turned towards Yuri, Genma and Raidou. "The daimyos of the Fire Country and the Earth Country has discussed the terms of surrender, as this falls under their jurisdiction. Not long ago, one of the Twelve Fire Guardians paid a visit, delivering the daimyo's letter, along with the terms of surrender. No Iwa-nin will be allowed to step foot into the lands of Fire Country for at least five years and vice-versa. Iwa will also be surrendering ten of their best jutsu scrolls, along with a monetary payment of 500,000,000 ryo."

"That will probably bankrupt them." Raidou snorted even as Yuri and Genma went wide-eyed at that ridiculous amount. But then again, Iwa had it coming. "But that's not all, right?"

Hizuren nodded solemnly. "There will be an exchange of shinobis as a form of the peace agreement that our nations had with each other," he explained. "A jounin will be exchanged with each other. Konoha had decided to send Suzuki Himiko as ours. Though it's more like she volunteered when I've gathered all the jounins for discussion." The Hokage added. "She doesn't really have anyone here after her brother had died on the frontlines against Kumo two years ago, and thus, she decided to sacrifice herself for the peace agreement – her words, not mine."

Minato sighed. "Oh boy. One of our best medics is going to be an Iwa-nin?" he groaned. "Tsunade-sama is _not_ going to be pleased. We have few enough medics as it is."

"But also, it is also precisely the fact that she is a medic-nin that it might help Iwa to accept her." Yuri pointed out. "Iwa has probably suffered as many causalities as us, if not more. But unlike Konoha, they don't really place priority on medic ninjutsu, as like most of the world, they think of medics as a waste of time. That also explains why they have twice as many losses than us. If a medic-nin is exchanged with Iwa, and who will help save a great number of Iwa-nins, it might help Iwa to accept her sooner, and not treat her as an enemy."

Hizuren nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking, Yuri," he said. "So, the three of you will be escorting Suzuki Himiko to the borders between Fire and Earth to exchange our ninjas three days from now. The Iwa-nin that will be becoming a Leaf-nin is an orphan as well – no family. He seems to be around sixteen or seventeen, and the Earth daimyo said that it's more like he jumped at the chance to leave Iwa for good. He had been one of the daimyo's guards until Onoki had called him back for the sake of the war. Genma, he'll be staying with you during his three month probation period." Genma nodded.

Yuri then accepted the mission scroll that the Hokage had given her. "Hokage-sama, if I may ask, who is the ninja that Iwa will be exchanging Suzuki-san with?" she enquired.

Hizuren frowned and studied the contents of the Fire daimyo's letter. "Well, his last name isn't known, as it is more like he refused to use his family name any longer for reasons that escape me," he said.

"He doesn't seem to like Iwa very much." Genma pointed out.

"Well, I guess so," said Hizuren. "The Twelve Fire Guardians will send his profile over sometime in the week. And the Iwa-nin's name is…" Hizuren frowned, scanning the contents of the letter. "…Deidara."


	7. The Path You Walk

**Notes: **Yuri and co. are twelve years old. Kyuubi isn't sealed in Yuri. Yuri had red hair. Yuri is posing as Minato's sister.

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing. No Kyuubi sealed in Yuri.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Seven: The Path You Walk**

The meeting point for the hostage exchange is to be at Blue Craig – the borders that both Fire Country and Earth Country shared with each other.

Blue Craig is pretty much devoid of human life, as there are mostly just surrounding cliffs in every direction, with all kinds of wildlife running about. The trip that the three Leaf-nins with one soon to be Iwa-nin had taken was pretty much silent, as though none of them have said anything, they are all worried about the fate of the Leaf-nin that would soon be residing in Iwa's territory.

Suzuki Himiko, a pretty woman around twenty two or twenty three with orange-red hair finally turned and smiled at the three younger jounins currently escorting her to the meeting point for the exchange. She had nothing with her but just a backpack, and her standard medical pack, along with the Leaf hitai-ate around her neck.

"Come on, don't look like that," she said. "I'll be alright. This is for Konoha. I don't mind doing this." The two boys said nothing, but Yuri nodded slowly. Himiko then smiled and untied the hitai-ate around her neck, handing it to Yuri who shook her head, and Himiko raised a curious eyebrow.

"I've spoken to Hokage-sama about this," said Yuri, pushing the hitai-ate back into Himiko's hand. "He wants you to keep this, as a reminder of your past, and of your history. Himiko-san, remember this. You might no longer be a citizen of Fire Country from now on, but you are born a Leaf-nin. Never forget that Will of Fire that you had within you."

Himiko smiled and nodded. "This is to prevent another war between Iwa and Konoha," she said, turning towards the two boys who have been pretty silent. "I don't mind. That's why, cheer up."

"I think that they're here," said Raidou, spying several figures in the distance, and the other three turned towards the direction that Raidou was looking into immediately.

It didn't seem to take too long before the four figures approached them, keeping some distance in between their two groups. Yuri studied the four Iwa-nins. They were all dressed in the usual manner of dressing that most Iwa-nins wore. Three of the faces were unknown to her, but she could see some manner of hostility in their eyes. The last Iwa-nin, also the youngest, looking to be around Genma and Raidou's age, was one that at least wore a pleasant looking expression on his face.

"Suzuki Himiko?" said the Iwa-nin in the middle, glancing at the orange-red haired kunoichi whom nodded. He then turned his attention towards Yuri. "I'm Tenro, a jounin from Iwagakure. We're here to initiate the hostage exchange."

Yuri nodded. "She'll be in your hands from now on," she said, not betraying anything in her eyes at all. She then glanced at the only blonde haired ninja in the Iwa-nins' midst, and nodded. "Alright. He seems to be the one that both our nations have agreed on."

Genma gave Himiko a gentle push on the shoulder, and at the same moment, both Himiko and the blonde Iwa-nin then started to move, passing by each other. It seemed to take an eternity before both ninjas were safely in the midst of the ninjas of who were once their enemies.

Tenro nodded to himself as he studied Himiko carefully before turning towards Yuri, glancing at the blonde now former Iwa-nin with some sadness in his eyes. "Deidara, behave yourself over there," he commanded. "Maybe you'll be free from now on." He muttered that last part.

Deidara grinned at Tenro. "Thanks for everything, Tenro-san."

Tenro then turned towards Yuri. "It might be strange of me to say this, but take care of him. He's a good kid."

Yuri nodded. "I'll do that. And take care of Himiko-san as well."

The other Iwa-nin grunted just then. "She's one of us from now on. Even we at Iwa don't mistreat our own," he grumbled.

Tenro cleared his throat loudly, as even he could feel the tension in the air. "Alright. Our objective is reached. We're going back." His two comrades grumbled something beneath their breaths before turning and walking back the way that they've came from. Himiko smiled slightly at Yuri, Genma and Raidou before turning away and following the Iwa-nins. Tenro was the last to move. He smiled a small smile at Deidara, before much to the Leaf-nins' surprise, he bowed to Yuri. "Please help this boy. Just maybe, he can use this chance to be truly free of his chains. It might be strange of me to ask this, but please help him."

Raidou grunted. "Tenro-san, he might be a former Iwa-nin. But he is a Leaf-nin now. And we Leaf-nins don't abandon one of our own. We'll help him."

Tenro then straightened himself up, and smiled a small smile. "Thank you."

* * *

The three Leaf-nins and one former Iwa-nin and now Leaf-nin have decided to stay the night at one of the inns at Kasuji-Cho, the town that Team Falcon have stopped by not long ago to search for Tsunade. The skies were darkening by the time that they've departed from Blue Craig, and as it's dangerous to travel at night, they have opted to stay at one of the inns.

And thus, nearly two hours later found all four ninjas staring at each other without saying anything in their room. The only kunoichi among their midst was the first one to break the uneasy silence. _'This is getting ridiculous,' _thought Yuri with exasperation, pulling out the ninja form that the Hokage had given her before their departure.

"Alright, Deidara, is it?" The blonde nodded. "I don't think that you know any of our names, so I guess introductions are necessary. The usual drill, guys." Yuri added, turning towards Genma and Raidou. "Name, specialisations, rank and dreams for the future. I'll go first." Yuri turned to face the blonde. "I'm Namikaze Yuri, jounin rank, twelve years old, also known as the Phantom to all neighbouring nations." Deidara's eyes widened when he realised just who was sitting in front of him. "I specialise in fuuinjutsu, assassination and demolition. I've attained my seal mastery a few months ago, thus making me one of the few seal masters in the world. As far as dreams goes…I guess it is to let go of my 'baggage'." She muttered, much to the confusion of the three boys with her. "Genma, you next."

Genma nodded before turning to face Deidara. "I'm Shiranui Genma, fifteen years old," he drawled. "Jounin rank, and team captain of Team Falcon, the members of whom you are seeing now. I specialise in pressure point fighting and tracking and infiltration. I'm currently working on kenjutsu. As for dreams… I guess it is to have a family of my own, since I'm an orphan." He mused. The other two boys in the room didn't miss the brief look that he shot at Yuri. "Raidou?"

Raidou nodded before he went next. "I'm Namiashi Raidou, fifteen years old," he said. "Jounin rank, and like Yuri and Genma, part of Team Falcon. I specialise in kenjutsu and taijutsu. I'm like the hard hitter of the team, dealing as much damage to the enemy as possible before Genma and Yuri finish them off." He joked. "As for dreams… I guess it is to become one of the best jounins of Konoha, and maybe pass my knowledge down to the next generation." He mused. "Alright, new guy. You're next."

Deidara fidgeted slightly when the attention was shifted to him. "D-Deidara. And I refuse to use my last name. I have no relations with them. Not any longer." Deidara muttered, glancing at his hands, and Yuri glanced down at the blonde's hands only to realise that his hands were missing those 'mouths'. Instead, there is quite a deep scar down each hand, and there were serious chakra burns on his hands as well. "I'm fifteen years old, jounin rank. A former Iwa-nin. I specialise in demolition, leaning more towards ninjutsu and genjutsu. As for dreams… Well, I don't really have any at the moment." He muttered.

Genma sighed. "The first thing that we're going to do once you're listed as a Leaf-nin is to boost your confidence," he muttered. "Everyone has a past, Deidara. We are no different. Like you, Yuri isn't always a Leaf-nin—_('Well, that is half true.' _Yuri thought)—but she has nearly the entire village's respect by now. No one cares about her past. It is true that it is going to be much more difficult for you, as you're a former Iwa-nin after all. And it is also true that the Leaf village had long memories. But if you just show them that you're loyal to Konoha and is willing to help, they'll accept you."

"Hokage-sama had told us of his plans regarding you," said Raidou. "You're going to be part of our team, and during your probation period, you're going to be staying with Genma. Team Falcon is a First Response Team. Yuri is basically an all-rounder. I'm a long ranged specialist whilst Genma is a short ranged specialist, though even that is slowly changing. Yuri is the tactician of our team, with Genma and me being the attackers. Your role is going to be simple. You're the support. First Response Teams have the highest death toll. That's why your job is going to be the most important. Your role is to keep us alive."

"Don't worry," said Yuri with a light smirk, waving one hand about at Deidara's astonished face. "It's true that you're a former Iwa-nin, but you're a Leaf-nin now. And we Leaf-nins take care of our own."

**XXXXXX**

Team Falcon, along with their future teammate, returned to Konoha early the next morning just as dawn was starting to break over the horizon, making a beeline to the Hokage's office where they found the Sandaime being buried behind mountains of paperwork, letting out the occasional curse every now and then.

Deidara nearly sweat dropped at this sight. "This…is a rather familiar sight," he muttered. "Old Onoki used to be buried behind paperwork as well."

Genma sighed before approaching the Hokage's desk. "Hokage-sama," he said loudly, announcing their presences, "Team Falcon reporting back, sir. Mission is a success."

Sarutobi Hizuren peered from around his piles of paperwork, and nodded. He then started to move around his piles of paperwork to clear some space on the desk. Yuri then handed him Deidara's ninja form silently which he read carefully for several moments. The Hokage then glanced at Deidara.

"Deidara," he said in his 'Hokage voice', and Deidara straightened up. "Do you swear upon your life and your honour to accept your role as a ninja of the Leaf, will you stake your life for the sake of the village and for the mission, and would you swear to uphold the conduct and the rules of the Leaf village until the day that you die? Will you swear by the Will of Fire that you'll swear your allegiance and your loyalty to the Leaf village until the end of your life?"

Deidara nodded curtly. "Yes sir," he answered. "I swear it; on my life, my honour, and my blood."

Sarutobi Hizuren studied the fidgeting blonde for several moments before he nodded and pulled out his stamp, stamping it across the ninja form that Yuri had handed to him, hereby stamping his approval to have Deidara approved as a Konoha jounin. The Hokage then handed the form to Genma silently, having the three members of Team Falcon to sign the form as proof of witness, and quickly filing it under the ninja records. Hizuren then took a new Leaf hitai-ate and handed it to Deidara who stared at it for several moments before tying it around his forehead.

"Well then, welcome to Konoha," said Hizuren, a warm smile breaking over his face. "Genma, will you show him around the village?" Genma nodded. "And Yuri?" The redhead turned towards the Hokage curiously. The old man had a rather amused smile on his face. "Your sister-in-law just returned to the village an hour ago, and she told me to send you over to the Namikaze mansion once you'd returned. Even Minato's old genin team was called. Her mission is a success, as she'd gotten an alliance with Suna, so it's got nothing to do with that. I think that it's more personal."

"Well, I was going to show Deidara around the village, but okay," said Yuri with much confusion. What did Kushina want to tell them that she would actually call for a family meeting? She then turned towards her teammates. "Hey, I'll meet up with you guys later tonight. At the usual place."

"Yakiniku Q, right?" Raidou stated, and Yuri nodded. He then grinned. "Alright. See you tonight then. We'll have some team bonding or something. Why don't you bring your old team along? It wouldn't hurt for Deidara to know some of our friends too."

"Well, I'll have to ask them," said Yuri with a wan smile. "See you tonight then."

* * *

Yuri took the familiar trek back to the Namikaze mansion, flaring her chakra out in the usual pattern that it usually took to open the gates.

With Minato being a seals master, and with Kushina also being an expert with seals, as a result, the Namikaze mansion is probably the safest place in the entire village, with the entire mansion warded and protected with seals of all kinds imaginable. One would not be able to even so much as approach the mansion if their chakra signature hasn't been keyed into the mansion's security system.

Yuri waited for the front gates to swing open before walking up the path, taking in the sight of the gardens that surround the mansion – usually tended to by Kushina as a way of de-stressing herself. Much to Yuri's surprise, the front doors of the mansion actually opened before she even made it there, with Rin opening the door.

"Hey Yuri." The brunette nodded to the redhead. "Kushina-san told us that you're here, and for you to wait with us in the main hall. She had something important to tell us, apparently."

"What is it about?" Yuri asked, following Rin into the main hall where Obito and Kakashi were both seated on the couch, with both boys looking bored out of their wits, and sleepy. In fact, Obito is still in his pyjamas, and looked close to be falling asleep on Kakashi.

"Who knows?" Rin shrugged.

"Is Yuri back?" Kushina's voice called out just then, and she started walking down the stairs, dragging a very sleepy Minato with her, with the redhead still dressed in her mission gear. "Good. Then I can announce this at last."

"Can't it wait till afternoon, Kushina?" Minato groaned, looking as if he was barely awake.

"Nope, it can't," said Kushina sternly.

"What is it, 'nee-san?" Kakashi asked sleepily, yawning his head off.

"WAKE UP!" Kushina nearly shrieked, with the loud noise startling all of them awake. Obito would have fallen to the ground had it not been for Kakashi who had grabbed onto his arm. "Now that all of you are wide awake…" She looked extremely embarrassed all of a sudden. "Well… Minato, do you remember that I've been sick for about a whole week before I've gone on that mission to Suna with Shizune?"

"Yeah? Did you find out what's wrong?" Minato asked, suddenly wide awake and alert, wondering if anything is wrong with his precious wife.

"Well…yes… Shizune gave me a check-up whilst we were in Suna," said Kushina, suddenly looking very embarrassed, and Yuri had a sudden suspicion that she knew just what's wrong with the elder redhead.

"And? What is wrong?" Minato asked with concern.

"Well… How do I put this?" Kushina mused, suddenly turning as red as her hair. "I'll be fine in about nine months." She turned her eyes to meet her husband's. "Minato, you're going to be a father."

Rin, Kakashi and Obito could only stare at Kushina with large eyes and opened mouths. Of all the things that Kushina could have said, this is the last of them. Yuri chuckled to herself. "I knew it," she muttered.

There was a loud thud just then, and every single occupant in the room turned towards the source of the sound.

The strongest jounin in Konoha and soon to be Yondaime Hokage, the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, had fainted.


	8. The Forgotten Something

To answer a few questions, yes, Minato and Kushina knew that Yuri is their daughter from the future. I won't be including the Kyuubi attack in this story, as Madara never attacked Kushina for the Kyuubi, and this chapter will have a time skip of three years ahead. Also, those clamoring for some romance or fluff, this chapter will be the start of romance development.

**Notes: **Yuri and co. are fifteen years old. Kyuubi isn't sealed in Yuri. Yuri had red hair. Yuri is posing as Minato's sister.

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing. No Kyuubi sealed in Yuri.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Eight: The Forgotten Something**

Three years later saw Konoha and Fire Country as a whole on the mend to recovery after the end of the Third Great Shinobi War.

Like with the end of every war, the first year had Minato sending as many ninjas as he could to handle all the missions coming in, with the D-rank missions being handled by the Academy students at the ninja Academy.

This is something that Minato had changed after he had became the Hokage – the revamping of the ninja training system at the Academy. There was more practical training after the first year that is more focused on history. Retired ninjas were brought back to teach at the Academy in order to free up the chuunin and jounin ranks, and other skills were taught outside the standard ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu. Demolition is one, with trap setting being another. There were also medic classes taught by Tsunade and Shizune being offered at the Academy. The Academy instructors were instructed to take note of those students who do not take being a ninja seriously, and if they still continued their foolish behaviour despite warnings after the second year, they would be transferred to the civilian schools instead.

Nearly a year after the war on October tenth marked the birth of the Hokage's daughter, Namikaze Takara, much to the village's delight and excitement. As a result, Minato had to post an ANBU squad for guard detail around the Namikaze mansion, as he feared that his enemies would seek retribution for the things that he'd done during the war. So far, there have been no attempts at any form of assassination, but still, the Hokage isn't letting his guard down.

Just six months after Minato had been named Hokage also had the Sannin splitting apart because of the defection of a certain snake Sannin, along with the horrible experiments discovered in his underground labs. Team Falcon has no idea just why Yuri is so angry for weeks after the snake Sannin had defected, but whatever it is, all three males were smart enough to not set her off.

Deidara had also settled in quite well as a Leaf-nin, though there are several people in the village who were wary of him because of his status as a former Iwa-nin. As a result, Deidara had few friends, but those are friends that he could trust with his life. Even after his three month probation had ended, the blonde still continued living with Genma who never complained about it, as he kind of like the company as well.

Team Falcon still went on missions, but rarely as a team, as the end of the war needs all available manpower to go on as many missions as they could possibly handle, and all four jounins that are part of Team Falcon are some of Konoha's best.

Minato had also revamped the council when he had taken office, including all the shinobi clan heads, the heads of the ANBU and Oinin, the head instructors of the ninja Academy and civilian Academy respectively in the council, as well as the head doctor of the hospital. And much to the three elders' (whom Haku had secretly called the 'three old coots') displeasure, Minato had 'cheerfully' dismissed them from their role as advisors, roping in the former Sandaime Hokage, and the two remaining Sannins as his advisors instead. And as Minato is the Hokage, Kushina had taken the proxy seat of Namikaze clan head in the council.

Yuri had never said anything much about her previous life, but Gaara and Haku are a little more talkative about that, even though like Yuri, they never said much about it either. And Minato had learned that after Pein's attack on Konoha, it is practically a political nightmare for the Leaf village when Danzo was elected as Rokudaime Hokage (much to Minato's horror when he had first heard about it). _That _old war mongering barbarian the _Hokage? _Thus why he had revamped the council as soon as he could to prevent another incident like that from happening again.

But still, the problems in a ninja village are never ending, especially in the political field. More than once, Minato had returned from a council meeting in a foul mood, often with the Uchiha clan as the main root of the problem.

After Tsunade had fixed a prosthetic arm on Obito after Yuri, Genma and Raidou have managed to convince her to return, the Uchiha had moved in with Kakashi in his apartment upon his insistence. Yuri had been one of the top jounins in the village, and not to mention that her 'brother' is the Hokage. During her weekly Friday night dinners with Minato, Kushina and a toddler Takara, Minato had often complained that the Uchiha clan is never satisfied with what they were given, and always wanted more and more.

And it is of no secret in the village that Yuri despised Uchiha Fugaku, and didn't bother to hide her disdain for him, and anyone with the last name of Uchiha sans for a rare few – usually the youngsters of the clan, and even the number of decent Uchihas could only be counted on one hand.

**XXXXXX**

"I am starting to believe my brother when he said that the Sharingan seems to have a side effect of making people stupid!" Yuri ranted at her teammates one Saturday night in the local ninja elite bar – Starlight's Hall, that the ninjas of Konoha frequent. ANBU Black Ops members as well as the village's top jounins like Team Falcon and Team Ryuu for instance, frequent this particular place weekly as well, and thus, trouble rarely occurs here.

The members of Team Ryuu and Team Falcon, along with Team Minato often gathered together for a drink every Saturday night. That night is no exception, as the jounins stared at Yuri as she downed cup after cup of sake, and didn't seem to be close to getting knocked out. For someone who had just turned fifteen years of age, she sure can hold her liquor.

"Present company excluded of course, Obito." Yuri added to Obito who is sitting in between Rin and Kakashi, nursing a half cup of sake in his left hand. Ever since losing his right arm, Obito had switched to using his left hand, that he is now ambidextrous.

Haku sighed, exchanging looks with Gaara and Hayate – the latter of whom had taken Yuri's place on Team Ryuu when the Hokage had switched her out during the war. "What did they do this time?" she asked tiredly.

"They tried to get my brother to pass a notion of giving them free reign to arrest anyone whom they please without having to get it approved by the Hokage!" Yuri gritted through such tightly clenched teeth that the jounins at the table have trouble understanding her. "I swear…" She muttered several curses beneath her breath. "Are all Uchihas this stupid?"

The remaining jounins exchanged looks. They rarely see Yuri this worked up, as she could be really patient when she needs to. Seems like whatever that Uchiha Fugaku had said had really riled her up, and had really gotten her mad. It isn't a secret in the village that Yuri despises anyone with the last name of Uchiha, but she seemed to be extra harsh with the clan head himself.

"It is true that they seemed worse than before," said Kakashi thoughtfully. "Sensei has been complaining about them. He said that they never seem to be satisfied." He turned towards Obito. "Obito, did you hear anything recently?"

Obito turned towards the silver haired ninja with an exasperated look on his face, already with a slight flush on his cheeks because of the consumption of alcohol. "Do I _look _like I still have contact with anyone with the last name of Uchiha?" he demanded. "I hadn't had any contact with any of them ever since my own family had kicked me out of the clan three years ago!"

Kakashi winced. "Sorry," he apologised.

"It's getting late," said Raidou, glancing at his watch. "Maybe we should all head home now. I still have some paperwork to clear after all." He grimaced. "Those genins really should learn how to file reports!"

"I'll mention this to my brother." Yuri stated, grinning, getting up from her seat as well. "Come on, let's go."

"Whoa…" Genma muttered, looking a little woozy, and he would have fallen back on his butt if Yuri hadn't grabbed his arm in time. "Maybe I shouldn't have drunk so much."

Yuri sighed. "No shit," she muttered. She turned towards the brunette's roommate. "Deidara, can you see yourself and this guy home safely?"

Deidara grinned and nodded. "It's not the first time that I have to do that," he said, slinging one of Genma's arms around his shoulders. "Genma, you really should learn to control your alcohol consumption." He sighed. _"I'm _the one who have to deal with your hangovers in the morning, you know?"

His voice then trailed off, followed by the others as they left the bar, before only Haku, Gaara and Yuri were left behind. The dark haired ice maiden was the first one to break the silence. "Gaara, head back without me, will you? I want to talk with Yuri." The redhead nodded before leaving the bar as well. Haku then turned towards Yuri. "Yuri, come walk with me. I want a word."

Yuri nodded before the two girls then left the bar, turning down the street that lead to Yuri's apartment in the ninja residential district. "It's been a while since we have gotten a chance to talk like this, isn't it?" Haku asked at last. She then glanced at Yuri. "Yuri, I'll just go straight to the point, since I know it is no good beating around the bush with you. Do you…like Genma?"

Yuri nearly stumbled over her own feet at that. "What gives you that idea?" she asked, yet Haku could detect a faint blush on her cheeks.

Haku sighed. She knew her best friend well. "Yuri, no one will blame you if you just let yourself live a little," she said. "You are the one who had sacrificed the most during the war. It's been years since then. That man doesn't deserve you in the least. Not after he tried to kill you _and _Sakura. Even she admits it."

"I swore that I would never love someone again." Yuri stated, not looking at Haku.

The ice maiden sighed. "Yuri, you know the price of time travel," she said. "I know that you must have noticed it as well. Our memories…are slowly fading away. Soon, in maybe another year or so, we would not be able to remember anything about our past lives. That is the price of time travel. As a seals mistress, you should know it too."

Yuri was silent. As a seals mistress, she knew the complexity of most seals. Time travel seals have always been complicated and dangerous to attempt, as doing so go against nature and fate itself. Thus, there are several prices to pay to attempt time travel. The sacrifices of several human lives for one. The second…is their own identity. Whoever that they were in their original timelines…they can no longer be it. Their memories of their past life will slowly fade away.

"It wouldn't work out, Haku." Yuri said at last. "I don't know how to really love someone. If truth be told, I don't even know if what I'd felt for Sasuke back then is true love or just infatuation. And I don't even know if I really love Genma now."

Haku smiled. "So you _do _admit that you feel something for him," she said. "Yuri, we've been friends for a long time now. I know you better than you think you know yourself. You just daren't try to love again. Because you're afraid to lose him." She sighed. "But if you don't try, you won't know how things will turn out, will it? Give yourself and Genma a chance, Yuri. Like us, you deserve a second chance at life."

By this time, they've arrived in front of Yuri's front door.

"Just think about what I've said, Yuri," said Haku. "See you." She then gave a light wave before turning to leave.

Yuri sighed before reaching into her pocket for her keys and inserting it into her front door, unlocking it and pushing the door opened. The redhead then closed the door behind her.

The apartment building that Yuri lives in on the twelfth floor is one of the more well off apartment buildings located in the ninja residential district of Konoha. Most of the ninjas that lived here are either jounins or top ANBU members. For a jounin like Yuri who took at least three or four S-rank missions a year, she can easily afford a place like this.

Kushina had been the one to help furnish Yuri's apartment when she had first bought the place. A huge glass window that overlooks the village of Konoha was the first thing that one will see the moment that they've stepped into the apartment, and the view was especially beautiful at night, with all the lights.

The main hall of the apartment was furnished in a simple style, yet modern. A black leather couch and two black sofas sat around a glass coffee table, with a dark blue carpet adorning the floor of the entire main hall. A black flat screen television hung on the wall, with a tall floor lamp standing by the couch. A large polished oak bookshelf was placed against the wall next to the television, filled with an astonishingly large number of books – the majority of which were fuuinjutsu books or even action novels. Surprisingly, there were a number of romance novels among the books as well.

The walls of the main hall were painted a peaceful peach colour, with white silk curtain adorning the sides of the windows, with a white tassel to tie it back. The curtains were currently drawn back, and there was even a large painting of the Hokage monument of Konoha, with the heads of the four Hokages on it. The painting was actually a present from Haku who is quite a talented artist, and the ice maiden had done this painting for Yuri's fifteenth birthday. A black ivory digital clock hung on the wall next to her bookshelf as well.

There were two bedrooms in the apartment, as Yuri's teammates sometimes tend to crash over at her place for the night if they should be working on their paperwork late in the night, as the group of four jounins tend to work on their paperwork together. As one rises in rank, the number of paperwork and reports that they have to work on increase as well. The extra bedroom that the boys usually use was mostly bare sans for a dark blue carpet and cream curtains at the windows, along with a bed in the room, and a desk.

Yuri's own room had a more personal touch to it. The colour of the walls was painted a pale baby blue, and she had gotten soft cream curtains hanging from the windows, with a white tassel to tie it back whenever she isn't home. A queen-sized bed with black silk sheets on it, with the headboard set against the wall. An oak night table with a table lamp on it was also set beside the bed. There was also a cabinet and a dresser in the room, alongside a desk and a bookshelf. There was also a small attached bathroom in the bedroom.

The small kitchen in the apartment was mostly left unused, as Yuri tends to eat out a lot, and the only home cooked meals that she have are Friday night dinners with her family at the Namikaze mansion unless she has missions.

Yuri sighed, taking off her jacket and tossing it over the back of the sofa, before untying her hitai-ate from her neck and letting it fall onto the coffee table of the main hall. With a tired and weary sigh, Yuri then let herself fall onto the leather couch in the main hall on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

_Do you like Genma?_

_Give yourself and Genma a chance, Yuri. Like us, you deserve a second chance at life._

Yuri sighed to herself in frustration, throwing one arm over her eyes. _'That…isn't the point here,' _she thought. _'I…don't know what it is like to love someone. So why the hell am I…?'_

**XXXXXX**

Shiranui Genma found himself cursing the early morning sun and the birds the next morning even before dawn had broken as he took the familiar route that he always took to his female teammate's apartment.

All members of Team Falcon have the key to Yuri's apartment, as when they feel like having some privacy or just some time to themselves, they would usually crash at the redhead's apartment. And it also helps matters that the four jounins often used Yuri's apartment as a meeting place of sorts to finish their paperwork together. Though recently, those times are a lesser occurrence, especially with everything in the village stabilising themselves.

A particularly excited magpie had found it amusing to 'sing' right outside Genma's bedroom window, thus waking him up. Genma had always been a very light sleeper that even the littlest things can wake him up in an instant. Most jounins are, especially those involved in the Third Great Shinobi War. And when his feathery alarm clock had flown off, Genma found that he can't get back to sleep, and thus, decided to head over to Yuri's apartment which is less than a street away from his own apartment.

Deidara was still snoring away in his room when Genma had left, taking the route to Yuri's apartment. It was early morning; so early that hardly anyone were awake, sans for the few ninjas on night patrol the night before, and were still at it until the ninjas for the next shift switch with them.

The brunette sighed as he took the lift to the twelfth floor and took the familiar route that took him straight to Yuri's front door. Like nearly every single area of Konoha, the apartment building is extremely silent, that only the early sounds of the morning birds chirping could be heard. Genma then fumbled in his pockets for his key ring and inserted the key to Yuri's apartment into the front door, and pushed it opened. The door swung opened silently, and Genma then took off his sandals and closed the door behind him quietly.

The view of Konoha greeted his eyes the moment that he'd stepped in, and no matter how many times that Genma had seen it, he would never get tired of it. Genma had a feeling that that is why Team Falcon had chosen Yuri's apartment as their 'meeting place', as the night view that could be seen from her window is beyond amazing. But it is also prone for distractions. Thus probably the reason why Yuri had bought white silk curtains for the windows that reached from ceiling to floor in her main hall.

The brunette then raised a brow when he saw the sight of the redhead asleep on the couch in the main hall, still dressed in her clothes from last night. Her jacket was draped over the back of one of the sofas, and her hitai-ate was placed on the coffee table. Yuri must have fallen asleep on the couch last night without even showering. She must have been really tired.

Genma scratched his head through his bandanna before walking over towards the redhead, dropping down onto his knees next to the couch that contains the sleeping redhead. For a long time, he merely stared at her sleeping face, remembering what Deidara had asked him when they were walking home last night.

_Do you like Yuri? Do you love her?_

That's a good question.

Genma sighed. For all his reputation as one of the most eligible bachelors in all of Konoha, he had never actually been in a serious relationship before. Sure, he had some flings, but those were never anything serious. Even now, he still had girls throwing themselves at him left, right and center, but he had never given them a moment of his time. The only reason why those girls have left Yuri alone when she is first transferred to his team is because she had quite a reputation as well, and not to mention that she is from the Namikaze family. And the entire village knew enough from her encounter with the Uchiha clan head three years ago that she wouldn't take any shit from anybody. Even those girls aren't suicidal enough to go up against one of the Leaf's top jounins, and one of the few seals masters in the world.

'_Do I love her?' _Genma thought, staring at Yuri. _'I don't know. But…I had always felt the want to protect her. Like when I'd first met her atop the Hokage monument three years ago… I wanted to protect her even then. But…' _He stared at Yuri. _'Does she feel the same for me?'_

He leaned in closer to Yuri, their lips just barely inches away from touching each other, before Genma drew back again, and shook Yuri's shoulder gently. There were a few moments before Yuri stirred and opened her eyes, rubbing at them sleepily.

"Genma?" Yuri muttered in her sleepy state. "What's up?"

"Did you sleep out here all night?" Genma asked, a slight smile tugging at the ends of his lips. "Take a shower or something. You'll feel better. I'll clean up your apartment a little as well. You hadn't finished your paperwork, right? Let's go over it together later at Yakiniku Q."

"Okay." Yuri muttered, still half-asleep, sitting up on the couch before making her way to her bedroom, and closing the door shut behind her.

Genma stared at the closed bedroom door before sighing and dropping himself down onto the couch that Yuri had occupied moments prior. He moved his left hand over the seat of the couch, finding it still warm with Yuri's body heat. He then sighed, burying his face into his hands.

'_What the hell was I even thinking?'_

* * *

Yakiniku Q is one of the few restaurants in Konoha that opens at the crack of dawn. As it not only serves barbeque, but also a large variety of food for all three meals of the day, and even serves coffee at all odd hours (something that the tired ninjas of Konoha were _very _grateful for), Yakiniku Q is a favourite haunt for the ninjas of Konoha.

As it is just a mere ten minutes after their opening, Yuri and Genma were the only ones present in the restaurant, both having ordered coffee and plates of toast as they went through their paperwork.

Genma sighed, looking at the thick pile of papers that he still has to go through. After having been an elite jounin (a new jounin) for a year, and then being a jounin for four years, the brunette officially despised paperwork. If he knew that as being a jounin, he would have to go through paperwork and reports weekly, he would rather not take the jounin exam. In fact, he would be ecstatic if he never had to lay eyes on another stack of paperwork ever again. Where did all the paper come from anyway? Shouldn't it run out, considering the fact that nearly every single jounin in Konoha has to deal with the same problem?

"Come on, Genma, the faster that we're done with this, the sooner that we can catch a break," said Yuri, not looking up from her work, her head bowed over the report that she is writing.

Genma raised an eyebrow. Yuri had only been his teammate for three years, yet there are times when it felt like she knew him better than Raidou knew him. She can always tell what he is feeling or thinking.

As if sensing his eyes on her, Yuri looked up, and Genma quickly looked away, pretending to be busy reading the stack of paperwork in front of him. Yuri stared at Genma who is sitting across her in the usual cubicle that they usually occupied in Yakiniku Q – in a corner of the restaurant to reduce distractions.

Haku's words from the previous night came back to her.

_Yuri, no one will blame you if you just let yourself live a little._

_So you __**do**__ admit that you feel something for him._

_But if you don't try, you won't know how things will turn out, will it?_

_Give yourself and Genma a chance, Yuri. Like us, you deserve a second chance at life._

"Yuri?" Genma turned his eyes to look at the redhead. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," said Yuri, glancing from her stack of paperwork to Genma's concerned face. Her lips twitched slightly. _'I…don't really know how to love someone. That's why…' _Genma looked at her weirdly. _'I wonder, what it would be like…' _Genma gave a very small smile before he leaned over the table and towards her, both of his hands resting against the edge of the table on his side. _'…to really love someone?'_

A pair of lips pressed against Yuri's own.

* * *

_A/N: Updates for this story seemed a little more frequent of late, not that any of you are complaining, I'm sure. Next chapter will be out within the next two days, as I seem to be on a roll updating this story, and my new Prince of Tennis story of late. Like I've said before, the romance parts, I will be taking it slow, and there would be some obstacles to cross over before they would have a stable relationship – rather like the one in my other version of Back and Again._

_Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter, and please read and review!_


	9. Melody of Agony

**Notes: **Yuri and co. are fifteen years old. Kyuubi isn't sealed in Yuri. Yuri had red hair. Yuri is posing as Minato's sister.

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing. No Kyuubi sealed in Yuri.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Melody of Agony**

"Kunais. Shurikens. Flash bombs. Three batches of each. Six blank scrolls. Two rolls of twelve metre ninja wire. Four packets of explosive tags. And the usual six rolls of bandages."

"Buying in bulk again?" The owner of the ninja weapon shop that supply every ninja in Konoha their weapons smiled, and whom Yuri knew as the father of the kunoichi on the future Team Gai, Higurashi Tessai. The brunette man took out the stuff that Yuri had asked for, calculating the total cost of the purchases. "That's quite a lot."

"Well, I used up quite a bit on my last mission." Yuri answered. "That ninja gave me some problems. Inoichi-san should be having quite a blast with him right now."

Tessai smiled. "Ah. Inoichi-san was in here just the other day. He was talking about having his apprentice taking his position as the head of the T&I soon."

"You serious?" Yuri blinked. "I know that my brother was talking about it last Friday during dinner, but they've sure decided on it quickly."

There was a low rumbling of thunder just then, and both Yuri and Tessai turned towards the entrance of the weapon shop only to see heavy rain pouring down. The people still on the streets were currently running for shelter, and the ninjas currently on guard patrol were all taking shelter at one of the tower outposts in Konoha.

"Ah. It's raining." Tessai muttered, scratching the back of his head, staring at the pouring rain. "And it's quite heavy too." He then turned towards Yuri. "Want to take shelter at my shop until the rain stops?"

"No. I need to get home quickly," said Yuri with a sigh, tucking away her purchases into her ninja pouch. Fortunately for her, her ninja pouch is water resistant. "I still have paperwork to complete." Seeing Tessai's doubtful look, the redhead sighed. "My house isn't that far away. I'll be fine."

Tessai sighed. "Well, if you say so," he said. "Thank you for your patronage." He called as Yuri left the store.

'_It really is coming down heavily.' _Yuri thought to herself, shielding her face from the raindrops as she looked up into the cloudy skies. It is soon fading into dusk, and night is falling fast. _'Well, we hadn't had any rainy weather for days. It is a welcome change from the hot weather these days.'_

And she then turned and walked down the streets, her sandals making some noises on the rainwater currently flowing down the pavement. Yuri then sighed, rubbing her temples. _'What am I thinking?' _she thought. _'I really need to get it together. My concentration hasn't been at the top lately, and even Haku and Gaara are starting to notice it.' _She blushed slightly. _'And I know the reason why.' _She sighed, flushing even further as she thought back to that memory of the restaurant. _'Ever since __**that **__had happened, I hadn't been able to think of anything else.'_

And it is true in a way. Even Minato is starting to notice her lack of concentration for a week ever since _that _had happened, and the blonde Hokage isn't exactly the most observant. It is a wonder how he could even manage to become the top jounin of Konoha prior to being the Hokage.

It is fortunate that due to Yuri's skill, she is sent out on more solo missions than team missions, and thus, her contact with her old teammates were minimised as a result. But even so, her concentration isn't at the top, and a lapse of concentration during her last mission when she was sent to hunt down a particularly dangerous missing-nin wanted by all nations nearly had her killed.

As Yuri turned down a route that is the fastest one to get her home, she then stopped in her tracks, and her breath hitched.

* * *

Shiranui Genma had been in a particularly foul mood for a week, and all his friends knew better than to cross him. Like Hayate, the senbon chewing jounin is rather lax and laid-back, and thus, rarely gets worked up. Thus, when he is in a foul mood, everyone knew better than to set him off. Still, the brunette seems rather determined to kick everyone these days, whether they've stepped on his toes or not.

The only one of his friends who probably hadn't had _any _form of contact with him for a week is probably only a certain redhead kunoichi.

And said redhead kunoichi is the _exact cause _of Genma's foul mood.

Ever since that kiss in the restaurant, she seems to be quite determined to avoid Genma. Yuri actually went as far as to put warding seals around her apartment, that she is the only one who could even approach her front door _without_ the seals electrocuting her. Well, the redhead _is _a seals mistress after all, and their Hokage had also stated at one time that she is even more proficient in seals than he is, as unlike Minato, Yuri uses seals in battle as well.

And no one had even seen Yuri for a week, not even her own family, and then again, they rarely see her anyway, as she only returns to the Namikaze mansion for Friday night dinners, and even that is a big if. Not even Haku and Gaara have seen her. And Genma knew for certain that she definitely isn't out of the village on a mission, as he had heard from the Hokage that she is currently on break after having completed a S-rank capture mission a week ago.

But out of all his friends, Raidou and Hayate are actually the only ones who knew that Yuri is just half of the reason behind Genma's foul mood of late. The other half has to do with a certain woman by the name of Ren.

Haruno Ren is a mere civilian woman from a merchant family, the Haruno clan, who had just moved into Konoha six months after the war had ended.

The Haruno clan head, the matriarch of the family, Haruno Sayako, is a strong-willed woman who takes no nonsense from anyone, and even the males of the village were wary of getting on her bad side. The Hokage's wife, Namikaze nee Uzumaki Kushina had taken a liking to the pink haired woman when the latter had gotten a meeting with the Hokage to request for a shop space to set up a business, and later on, the Hokage had made her the head of the merchant guild to replace the current incompetent fool who is ruining Konoha's merchant business. It also helps that the woman also had a daughter a few months older than Namikaze Takara, and as both Kushina and Sayako were very much alike, they both got along like a house on fire. Most members of the Haruno clan who nearly all comprises of merchants were all rather like Sayako – extremely strong willed and stubborn, with a fiery temper to boot. And not to mention that they're honourable. And fortunately, it is only the females of the clan who inherit the hereditary pink hair.

But Haruno Ren seems to be the odd one out of the clan. She is actually a third cousin of the clan matriarch, with her mother having passed away giving birth to her younger sister, and her father having passed away due to severe health complications five years earlier. Haruno Ren seems to latch onto any good-looking male that comes her way, ninja or not. Fortunately, nearly the entire village had heard of her reputation, and most of the shinobis who caught her eye also had a blunt enough tongue to tell her just what they think of her.

Unfortunately for Shiranui Genma however, he seemed to have caught the eye of Haruno Ren, and thus, had been pestered by her for nearly a month. The brunette hadn't said anything to Haruno Sayako who had been an acquaintance of Yuri's through her sister-in-law, as he was hoping that she would give up if she gets the message that he isn't interested. But it's already been a month, and it doesn't seem like she would give up anytime soon.

And to make things worse, as Genma is having his lunch at Yakiniku Q, hoping to see Yuri in here as usual, he happened to run into Haruno Ren. As a result, Genma tried to finish his lunch as quickly as possible, aka gobbling his food before exiting the restaurant, being followed by this parasite of a woman. And as luck would have it, rain started to pour the moment that he stepped out of the restaurant.

"That's enough out of you already!" Genma finally snapped, his patience finally reaching its limits, turning to glare at the woman who simply wouldn't get a clue. "Go and bother someone else! I'm not interested in you, and I definitely wouldn't go for a woman who has a reputation to just sleep around with any man who just give you a moment of his time!"

His words don't seem to affect Haruno Ren much, if at all. In fact, it seemed to turn her on even _more. _A seductive smile stretched across her lips, and she clammed onto Genma's arm, much to his annoyance. "Don't be like that," she purred. "I can show you a good time, and show you just how what a _real woman _is, rather than that kid on your team."

Genma's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Kid? She had _better _not be talking about Yuri. Sure, the redhead is only fifteen, just passing her birthday two months earlier, but she is more mature than anyone that he had known. Hell, she acts more mature than Raidou, who is easily the oldest member of their entire team, fast approaching his twentieth birthday.

"At least Yuri doesn't sleep around, and I can trust her to guard my back in a battle." Genma spat, pulling his arm out of Ren's grasp.

The smile across Ren's lips stretched even further, if at all possible, and the ever observant Genma noted the slight signs of annoyance and fury on the woman's face. "Shall I show you a good time, and what a real woman is?" she purred before grabbing a surprised Genma by the shoulders, and the sudden lunge caused Genma to hit his back against the wall of a nearby store as Ren grabbed his lips in a forceful kiss that nearly caused him to gag, because of the strong perfume that wouldn't go away, even with the heavy rain pelting down on them both.

There was the sound of a light gasp just then, and as Genma was trying his utmost to push Ren off of him, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of a familiar shade of red hair turning around the corner. A shade of red hair that only one person in the entire village had.

_Yuri._

"I said, get the fuck off me!" Genma finally roared, pushing Ren as hard as he could, his temper finally reaching its limits.

Before his parents' passing when he had been a chuunin, he had been raised as a gentleman, and thus, had never raised a single hand against a girl before. This is probably the first time that he had ever been so rough with a girl. Ren stared at Genma with bewildered and frightened eyes; scared of the pure hatred and anger reflected in those chocolate brown eyes directed at her, and the senbon chewing jounin had actually unconsciously let out some killing intent, showing Ren just why he is an S-class ninja, and the squad captain of one of Konoha's top combat teams during the war.

"Haruno Ren, get near me or any of my friends within a ten mile radius, and I'll show you what I do to loose women." Genma growled, his eyes flickering towards the corner where he had seen Yuri disappearing from earlier.

His piece said, he then turned and ran down the corner where Yuri had disappeared from, finding the currently rain-filled streets empty. Not to be outdone, he then took off down Konoha's streets.

'_Yuri…'_

**XXXXXX**

'_I am such an idiot.' _Yuri thought to herself, covering half of her face with her left hand, ignoring the fact that she is currently getting drenched through with the rain that seemed to be falling heavier with each passing moment. _'What am I getting all upset for? It's not like it's any of my business if they're involved or not.' _Her heart clenched painfully as she recalled the scene of Genma kissing that pink haired woman, with that pink hair reminding her of someone of her past that she could only recall vaguely now, because of the price of time travel. _'But…' _Yuri clenched the fabric of her soaked shirt over her heart. _'Why does it hurt so much?' _

Tears fell unknowingly from her eyes, blending in with the rain currently staining her face. She hadn't felt like this ever since Sasuke had left her for dead at the Valley of the End, with a Chidori hole through her chest that took nearly half the medics of Konoha, including Tsunade and Shizune, over twelve hours to close up.

Yuri fell against the wall of a nearby store that like nearly every single store in Konoha, had closed because of the heavy rain. _'If he likes her, and is going out with her, then just go ahead. I…' _She closed her eyes, remembering what had happened in Yakiniku Q just a week ago, and she clenched her right hand into a fist whilst on the wall. _'Why did he do that to me then?' _Her memory went back to the scene of Genma kissing that woman. _'They should be together, if that's what they want.' _More tears fell from her eyes that she wiped away with the back of her left hand. She had never cried ever since Sasuke had betrayed them, and had left her for dead. She had sworn to never cry again after that day. _'Why do they have to get me involved?'_

"Thank you very much!" A familiar voice echoed out, coming from the _only _store in the street that is still opened which turned out to be a new teahouse opened by Haruno Sayako that year that mainly served dango and tea, and that is fast becoming a favourite haunt of Mitarashi Anko.

It also helps that Haruno Sayako had never believed any of the awful rumours about the purple haired kunoichi that had been spreading around Konoha after her teacher's defection. The pink haired woman had actually threatened the staff working at all her restaurants and stores that if they don't want to be fired, they had better treat the purple haired kunoichi like she's royalty if she ever went to any of their stores.

"Thank you for your patronage."

Namiashi Raidou then blinked owlishly several times slowly, staring at Yuri as if he couldn't believe his eyes, an umbrella held over his head to shield himself from the rain. "Yuri?" he echoed in surprise. He then frowned as he studied her carefully, and then sighed. "You're drenched through. Come on, I'll take you home. You'll catch a cold if you stay out in the rain any longer." He muttered, guiding her by the arm, making sure that not a single drop of rain fell on her whilst under the umbrella, not that it is of any use, seeing as how the redhead is currently completely wet through.

Yuri said nothing, but just allowed Raidou to guide her by the arm, leading her to her house that all three of her teammates have avoided like the plague ever since she had placed the warding seals around her house.

* * *

"So how do I get near your front door?" Raidou asked as Yuri's front door came into sight as they walked out onto the corridor from the lift. Yuri mumbled something. "Pardon?"

"I said, take one of the paper seals off. The one behind the water pipe on the wall."

"Is that it?" Raidou muttered before spotting a piece of paper that he had never noticed being camouflaged really well behind the rather thick water pipe near him. He would never have noticed that piece of paper if Yuri hadn't pointed it out to him. "Come on." Raidou guided Yuri by the arm, leading her to her front door, feeling inwardly relieved that he didn't get electrocuted again. He then reached into his pocket for his key ring and inserted Yuri's house key into the lock, pushing the door opened.

Yuri entered her apartment behind Raidou wordlessly, dripping rainwater all over the carpet even as Raidou turned on the lights, as the door swung shut behind her slowly. "Wait here for a moment." Raidou called out as he headed straight for the kitchen. He knew where everything was, as all of Team Falcon have been here so often. Raidou was back within a few moments, with a white fluffy towel in hand which he draped over Yuri's head and started to rub her hair dry. "So you going to tell me what had happened?" Raidou asked as he stopped his work and stepped back a few paces. "You can't tell me that you suddenly had an urge to just stand in the rain and let it pour down on you."

"It's nothing." Yuri turned her face away from Raidou, the towel hiding her face from view.

Raidou studied her silently for several moments, resting his butt against the top of the sofa that he is sitting on. "Mission failure?" he joked, since it is a standing joke among all of Team Falcon that Yuri is probably the _only one _among the four of them that hasn't failed a mission yet.

"Excuse me?" Yuri's voice sounded a tad bit dangerous, her eyes hidden from view. "What are you talking about? Can you please stop making everything into a joke? I'm just…"

A tear fell from Yuri's eye, and the redhead's eyes widened just then, as she realised that she's tearing up again. Raidou can only stare in shock, as this is probably the first time that he had ever seen his female teammate cry.

Yuri chuckled, though it sounded fake and forced to Raidou, as the redhead turned around, her back facing him, one hand covering her right eye. "S-Sorry," she apologised. "I don't know what came over me. What the hell am I even doing?" Her voice trembled, as she rubbed at her eyes with the back of her left hand. "It's really nothing at all…" Her lower lip trembled. "It's really…nothing at all…"

Yuri was taken aback the next moment when she felt a pair of strong arms encircled itself around her body from behind, and felt Raidou's breath just next to her left ear as he tightened his embrace around her.

"Yuri." Raidou sounded serious for once. "You know something? It is true that as a ninja, showing our emotions isn't allowed, according to the shinobi rulebook, but keeping it suppressed can drive us insane even faster. And you still hasn't realised that this 'perfect armour' that you've gotten yourself wrapped up in is actually full of chinks." Raidou rested one hand on the towel still draped around Yuri's head.

Yuri chewed on her bottom lip nervously, feeling a tad bit uncomfortable with having Raidou in such close contact with her. "Um… Raidou? Please let go of me."

"No."

Raidou grabbed Yuri's left hand by the wrist just then, turning her around, and grabbing her chin with his right hand, the other arm wrapped around her waist, with the towel falling to the ground as he did so. Yuri's eyes widened as Raidou closed the gap between both their faces, grabbing her lips in a kiss.

Acting on sheer instinct alone, Yuri shoved Raidou away from her as hard as she could, pressing her back against the wall, her eyes shadowed by her bangs, rubbing at her lips with the back of her hand. "Get out." Her voice sounded dangerous, and Raidou knew the danger signs.

"Yuri, I—"

"Get out!" Uh oh. Yuri sounded pissed off, and her eyes told Raidou just how pissed she is. "You men are all the same. You say one thing, but you mean another thing entirely. Am I just some damn plaything for you to play with, then to discard once you get sick of me?" Yuri's eyes narrowed dangerously.

_Am I just some object for you and your brother to fight over, over who gets to kill me first? Itachi-nii said that he would always protect me, even before he had left. Then I meet him again four years later, only this time with him wanting to __**kill **__me! And you? You claim to be my best friend, then you try to carve my heart out of my chest! Well, I'm sick of it. I had enough of you damn Uchihas. I had enough of you men. You men are all the same. You say one thing, yet you mean another thing entirely. You and your brother… You are both the same. You think that you can do whatever you want. Well, I'm sick of it. I'm not going to just stand there and let you kill me either. Uchiha Sasuke. Try to kill me if you can. That is if I don't kill you first!_

"Well, I'm sick of it." Yuri's voice sounded dangerous. "I am sick and tired of it all." She glared at Raidou who was taken aback with the power behind that glare. "I am not just some plaything for you men to fight over! I have feelings, damn it!" Yuri then opened the door beside her, leaving it a fraction opened. "Get the hell out." She hissed.

**XXXXXX**

Genma turned up at Yuri's house an hour later, dripping wet, with the raindrops dripping from the ends of his hair as he did so, creating quite a puddle around his feet. To his surprise, he found a grim looking Raidou leaning against the wall next to Yuri's house, seemingly waiting for him.

"R-Raidou?" Genma was bewildered to find his best friend there. And he was even more confused to see Raidou looking so pissed off.

Raidou turned around, meeting Genma's eyes with his own, and he looked even more pissed off, if it is even possible. Before the senbon chewing jounin can even say or do anything, he felt more than saw a fist flying straight at his face, nailing him in the jaw.

"What the _hell_ did you do?" Raidou hissed rather like a venomous snake.

Genma nursed his bruised jaw. Raidou had always been better at taijutsu than him, and his strength isn't to be sneezed at either. There will probably be a pretty nasty bruise on his jaw tomorrow.

"I didn't do _anything!" _Genma exclaimed, holding both his hands up in surrender. "It's more like _Ren_ who is doing something." He mumbled, but apparently, Raidou had very good hearing, as he heard everything. And if it is even possible, he looked even more pissed.

"That wrench forcing herself on you again?" Raidou scowled, and Genma nodded reluctantly. "I see. Well, excuse me then. I'm going to get Deidara and devise a plan to murder the slut while making it look like a suicide."

"Wait, Raidou!" Genma stopped the obviously pissed off jounin. "What just happened? Why are you outside Yuri's house? And on that note, did she remove the seals?" Genma blinked, suddenly realising that Raidou had been standing within the warding range of Yuri's house that had practically electrocuted everyone sans for Yuri the moment that they stepped near her front door.

Raidou sighed. "First, I know nothing of what had gotten her so upset," he said. "I ran into her as I was leaving the new dango shop. She obviously looks upset, so I thought that I should take her home, as the rain had drenched her through. Second, Yuri removed the seals so that I could enter her house. And I think I understand why she was so upset earlier. She must have seen Ren forcing herself on you, and had gotten the wrong idea."

Genma nodded hesitantly. Raidou sighed, and jerked one thumb over his shoulder. "Clear things up with her."

"But…what should I say?"

Raidou lost his temper. Genma was taken aback when Raidou grabbed him by the front of his jounin uniform all of a sudden, yanking him forward so that their faces were just mere inches apart from each other. Genma could almost smell Raidou's breath.

"Be a man for once, and fess up to your feelings, goddamn it!" Raidou snarled in Genma's face who gulped nervously. Oh shit. Raidou is cussing. Not a good sign. "If you really love her, then go and tell her how you feel! It is obvious that she likes you too, or she wouldn't have been so upset!" Raidou released his hold on Genma's shirt, and the latter took two unsteady steps backwards, with Raidou breathing heavily. "If you don't take this chance now, you'll lose it forever. Go and tell her."

Genma nodded hesitantly, and Raidou then turned and walked down the corridor, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Raidou, why?" Genma called out to his best friend.

Raidou stopped in his tracks, his back facing Genma, still with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "…I like Yuri," he said at last. "And I know you do too. We both knew this for a year at least when we started looking at her as less as a teammate, and more as a woman. Especially so after Deidara had pointed it out to you. But…" Raidou's shoulders shook, tightening his hands into fists in his pockets, still refusing to turn around so that Genma wouldn't see the tears falling from his eyes. "I know that you're the only one in her heart. There is no room for another." He started walking again. "I wish you both the best."

He then disappeared from sight.

Genma bit on his bottom lip nervously, staring at the spot where Raidou had just disappeared from. He could tell just how hurt and heartbroken that his best friend had been, that the girl whom he had fallen for – the _first one, _in fact, didn't return his feelings. Raidou had never had much luck with girls, especially after the disastrous mission that had killed their teammate before Yuri's arrival. Raidou had gotten a kunai slash on his left cheek, narrowly missing his eye, thus affecting his looks as a result. Kunoichis probably wouldn't mind his looks, but he knew that most civilian women would.

Genma wanted to run after his best friend to see if he's all right, but Raidou's words came back to him just then.

_If you don't take this chance now, you'll lose it forever._

Genma bit on his lip, and turned on his heel, heading towards Yuri's house. The brunette reached into his pocket for his key ring, fitting Yuri's house key into the door, and turning it opened, pushing the door opened as he did so.

A kunai bounced off the wall next to him as he did so, clattering to the ground by his foot, the sound muffled because of the carpet. Genma looked up only to see a pissed off Yuri standing in front of him, dressed only in a plain white blouse and dark blue shorts, her hair still damp. "I really shouldn't have given you idiots my house key. You come and go as you please. What do you take my house for, a hotel?" Yuri snarled. "Get the hell out."

Genma closed the door behind him. "Just listen to me for a moment."

"I'm not listening to anything that you have to say. You say one thing, but you mean another thing entirely! You men are all the same!" Yuri snarled. "Get out!" She turned and stalked off towards her room.

Much to Yuri's annoyance however, Genma followed her, his long legs covering more distance, and he grabbed her hand before Yuri could enter her room. "Just listen to me for a moment!" Genma pleaded, with Yuri refusing to look at him. "There really is nothing between me and Ren!"

"That is none of my business!" Yuri snarled. "You don't have to answer to anything to me. Go and play with that Ren or Ran or whatever her name is! Go and do whatever the hell you want!" Yuri jerked her hand out of Genma's grasp. "You just kissed me out of the blue one day in Yakiniku Q without even explaining anything, and the next thing that I knew, you're kissing some woman? Don't treat me like I'm some idiot!"

"I tried to find you!" Genma tried to explain himself. "But I can't find you anywhere. Hokage-sama refused to tell me where you are; he said that you threatened him with severe bodily harm if he does so. Haku, Gaara, Kakashi, Obito, Rin and the others don't even know where you are. And you placed all those warding seals around your front door that not even Kushina-san and Hokage-sama can get through it!"

Yuri gritted her teeth together, still refusing to look at Genma. "Don't fuck with me!" she snarled, entering her room, and trying to shut her door on Genma.

Note the keyword here: _try. _Genma had blocked the door with his bare hand the moment that Yuri had entered, ignoring the pain that that had caused him, refusing to let Yuri step away from him. Though the fact that she is so furious, different from the usual cool-headed her, gave him some hope.

"Yuri!"

"Don't come in! I said, get the hell out of my house!" Yuri snarled, still trying to shut her bedroom door.

"I won't!"

Yuri finally gave up on closing the door, and turned, and walked even further into her room, being followed by Genma. "I said, don't follow me! And get the hell out!"

She was taken aback by surprise when Genma trapped her arms by her sides with his own body just then, causing the both of them to fall onto the bed in her room. Yuri struggled with Genma, turning around to meet him face-to-face.

"Let go! Get off me! And don't you dare touch me!" Yuri shoved at Genma's chest with all her strength, finally managing to get him off her, and she sat up on the bed, with both of them breathing heavily. "You…" Yuri's bangs overshadowed her eyes. "You don't have a damn clue how I felt this past year." She clenched her right hand into a fist on the soft silk of the bed. "You…don't even know how much it hurts when I saw you and that woman… You…" A tear fell from her eye. "You…don't even know…"

"I'm sorry." The two simple words caused Yuri to look up at a solemn Genma. "I know that I can give no excuse to the great hurt that I've caused you. But I have to say all this now, or I'll probably never get another chance ever again! Ever since the first time that I met you atop the Hokage monument, you've always been more important to me than anyone else. I had always felt that I _needed _to protect you, like you're still suffering from something that you can tell no one about. And I…I _wanted _to protect you. This is the first time that I've ever felt like this about a girl, and I don't know what to do about it. Because I also knew that my best friend…that Raidou likes you too!"

"Don't fuck with me!" Yuri snapped, and Genma snapped his head up to look at her. The redhead looked beyond furious, and angrier than Genma had ever seen her before. "You…don't understand anything! It's enough. I'm tired. I'm sick and tired of all these games! Ever since I'd met you, my life has turned into a complete mess, and my emotions are always going through a roller coaster ride!" She slapped Genma across the face, her bangs overshadowing her eyes. "I'm turning into the one type of person that I never wanted to become, that I hate the most, and it's all because of you! I vowed years ago when my best friend betrayed us, and tried to kill me, that I would never cry again, and it's because of you, you asshole, that I broke that one promise! It's all your fault! It's all…your fault…" Her voice grew fainter, and soft sobs could be heard coming from Yuri. "It's…all your fault. Why the hell am I letting someone like _you _get me all worked up like this?"

Genma closed the gap between the both of them in a matter of moments, pinning Yuri below him, pinning her hands down by the side of her head, with the redhead turning her face away from him. "…I'm sorry."

The brunette caught the faint glistening of tears even in the darkness of the room as another rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. "…the hell am I getting worked up…like this…" Yuri whispered. There was silence for several moments, with not a sound to be heard sans for the rumble of thunder, and the pitter-patter of raindrops on the window. "…I love you. I love you!" Genma's eyes widened. "I love you. I love you, goddamn it!" Her voice grew louder, echoing around the room. "Is that a problem? You got a problem with it? Even after I told myself that I would never love again! Because I don't even _know _how to love someone! Why someone like you? This is the worst, the worst thing to…" Yuri took in several breaths to try to calm herself down. "If I'd never met you, none of this would ever have happened! I wouldn't even feel like this in the first place! Why the hell must I fall in love with someone like you? Why you out of all the people in the world? Why the hell must it be you? This is the worst thing…the worst… And who the hell do you think that you are to—"

Genma forced Yuri to look at him, even when the look in his eyes wanted to make the redhead look away from him again. "I know that nothing in this world is absolute. But I know one thing. No matter what had happened in your past, and no matter what will happen in the future, I know that I will always love you. You are the only one for me." He looked into startled blue eyes. Yuri's eyes had always been unique to him; so similar to Hokage-sama and his daughter, yet different as well. If Hokage-sama's eyes are that of the sky with the sun shining behind, then Yuri's eyes seemed to be that of the dark stormy skies; a deep dark blue. Looking into them could really make you feel like you'll get lost in those eyes. "I love you."

He closed the gap between both their faces within mere moments, capturing Yuri's lips in a kiss. The redhead was caught off guard, her eyes widening in shock as she felt Genma's tongue running along her bottom lip, demanding entrance. Hesitantly, Yuri parted her lips slightly, and was surprised when Genma took that chance, plunging his tongue into her mouth.

Yuri breathed in sharply as she felt Genma's hand pushing up the fabric of her blouse and onto her bare skin, allowing cool air to hit it, but soon relaxed beneath him. She let out a slight moan, and Genma smirked against her lips, drawing back slightly, brushing Yuri's bangs off her forehead.

"You're sure getting into it for saying no at first," he said, and Yuri blushed lightly. "Yuri, I want you."

"Shouldn't you change into a fresh pair of clothes, at least? You'll catch cold otherwise." Yuri tried to distract Genma, blushing at what that last statement had meant.

"Let it." Genma muttered, as he leaned forwards, and captured Yuri's lips in a passionate kiss again, nearly cutting off both their supplies of air until he broke apart.

"ACHOO!"

"…I told you."

**XXXXXX**

The rumour mill of Konoha worked just as fast as Yuri had remembered.

The last time when the gossipmongers of Konoha have been this active had been when Orochimaru had defected from the village, leaving behind his apprentice, Mitarashi Anko, with one of his cursed seals. Both Yuri and Minato were still trying to figure out how to remove the seal, with little success.

But now, three years after the snake Sannin's defection, the rumour mill of Konoha as well as all those gossipmongers has gotten themselves all worked up again. And the fact that two of Konoha's top jounins – Shiranui Genma and the Hokage's sister, Namikaze Yuri, were going out with each other is definitely good news for them, though definitely _not_ good news for all the fanboys and fangirls for those two involved.

Namiashi Raidou and Deidara have apparently been seen with Haruno Ren two days after that piece of news had gotten spread around, though no one paid that small piece of information any heed, only that Haruno Ren seemed to have disappeared from Konoha mysteriously after that. The word going around is that Haruno Sayako-sama had sent her cousin along with all those civilian volunteers and the medic-nins of Konoha to one of the neighbouring militia villages of Fire Country to help with the rebuilding.

But now, the latest batch of graduating Academy students were graduating soon, and the genin teams were getting sorted out to determine the best teams. Minato had abolished the ridiculous tradition of the best student getting put together with the worst student, and usually teamed the students judging by their personalities and their skills. As it was just a mere three years after the war, and the village isn't even _halfway _recovered, a great number of jounins have expected for themselves to be selected as jounin instructors.

And it is because of the batch of graduating students that one Namikaze Yuri found herself in the Hokage's office on a bright Wednesday afternoon, looking at her 'brother' with a look on her face that suggested that he had just grown two new heads, both hands slammed down on the Hokage's desk, with a sheepish blonde grinning at her with amusement.

"You want me to WHAT?"

The entire Hokage Tower echoed with her voice, and all the ninjas working in the Tower that day wondered just what their esteemed Hokage had done to piss his sister off _again._

"Couldn't you have asked _someone_ else?" Yuri demanded.

"Well, those kids are kind of 'special' in a way. You can handle them, I'm sure." Minato muttered. "Besides, Kushina would probably crucify me if I send you away from the village for even more missions. We barely see you as it is."

Growling, Yuri grabbed the file that her 'brother' had handed to her before stomping out of the Hokage's office, not even bothering to heed his next words, as his cheerful voice floated out of his office.

"Don't worry about it! I'm sure that you'll make a _great _jounin instructor!"

* * *

Yuri scared practically everyone whom she'd ran into on the way to the Academy with the dark look on her face that told everyone watching that whoever had the guts to step on her toes had better start saying his prayers.

The redhead found the classroom of the graduating class just then, and slid the door opened, being greeted by an entire class of fearful twelve-year-olds who shook at seeing the dark look on the jounin's face, with actually a few younger faces among the class. Every single genin hopeful prayed that this particular jounin _wouldn't _be _their _jounin instructor for the entirety of their shinobi career.

The chuunin instructor, one whom Yuri had been acquainted with on a few occasions because of his work at the Mission Desk grinned at the redhead.

"Hey Yuri." The chuunin greeted. "You're a jounin instructor this year? That's a surprise."

"Well, I wasn't exactly given a choice." Yuri grumbled, muttering something about idiotic older brothers. The chuunin instructor laughed with amusement. Seeing the Hokage and his sister interact is always interesting. The redhead then turned her attention towards the class of genin hopefuls, studying each face, her gaze resting longer on the youngest member of the class – a boy of about seven or eight, who is unmistakably an Uchiha, with the Uchiha crest on the back of his shirt.

Yuri then sighed. "I'm here for team five. Hyuuga Kisuke—" A twelve-year-old boy wearing white robes with the Byakugan eyes who is reading a book at the back of the class perked up at the mention of his name. After the end of the war, Minato had abolished the Caged Bird Seal, and with Yuri's help, had created a new seal in the shape of a teardrop tattoo on the hand that does the purpose of protecting the Byakugan, yet wouldn't hurt the wielder. Needless to say, the two Families were united as one, as every Hyuuga had that seal, and the Elder Council was disbanded, much to Hiashi and Hizashi's delight. "Umino Iruka—" A cheeky twelve-year-old brunette with his hair tied up in a ponytail who had been playing Jan-Ken-Pon with an Inuzuka looked up. "—and…" Yuri sighed to herself inwardly, wondering what the hell that she did to her brother to make him give her this team out of all the graduating teams this year. "…Uchiha Itachi." She fixed a stern look on the youngest member of the graduating class, a boy with his hair tied in a similar fashion as her second student, and who is munching on a stick of Pocky with a bored expression on his face. "Meet me on the rooftop in ten minutes."


	10. The Genin Test

I am back, people! And about Yuri's genin team, I'll rather _not _create more OCs, even though it is standard for the genin teams to have two shinobis and one kunoichi. But with Minato as Hokage, I am changing it a little, as I never liked how canon made the worst student to be together with the best student. Just where is the sense in doing that?

Also, for all Itachi lovers, he is going to go through a bit of a bashing as a fresh genin until he has some sense knocked into his head. You have to understand that Minato had just been Hokage for a few years at this point. He can't change everything right away. The Hyuuga situation had just been resolved, thus, the Hyuuga in Yuri's team won't be so much of an ass.

And Yuri had been quite pissed with nearly all ninjas with the last name of Uchiha before she had came back to this time, as all three of them seemed to want her head for some reason, including Itachi who is like her older brother of sorts. Thus, she isn't very happy with him.

**Notes: **Yuri and co. are fifteen years old. Kyuubi isn't sealed in Yuri. Yuri had red hair. Yuri is posing as Minato's sister.

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing. No Kyuubi sealed in Yuri.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Ten: The Genin Test**

It will take the freshly graduated students some time to reach the top of the rooftop, and Yuri had used the time to clear her mind, and to do some deep thinking whilst being seated at the edge of the rooftop, her arms crossed over her chest.

It had been quite a surprise to her when the genin profiles that her 'brother' had handed to her consisted of one Uchiha Itachi among them. She might not have told Kushina and Minato everything that had happened over in her original timeline, even if her memories of _that _time are fading fast by now as a result of the price of time travel, but she is fairly sure that Haku and Gaara are bound to at least mention bits of it to Minato.

And even if they didn't, Yuri didn't exactly keep it a secret that she despises everyone with the last name of Uchiha, sans for Obito. And after the latter's excommunication from the clan three years ago after his little mishap in the Land of Earth that had resulted in him losing his right arm, that if it hadn't been for both Yuri and Minato's intervention at that time, Obito would have long been lynched alive by his clan. That little incident alone is more than enough to increase Yuri's disdain and dislike for anyone with the last name of Uchiha.

And now, she's gotten someone whom she used to look at as an elder brother of sorts when she was growing up as her student, someone who had later tried to kill her for reasons unknown when she had became a genin, along with his younger brother, someone whom Yuri had thought of as a best friend.

Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?

It had taken Yuri every single bit of her willpower to stop herself from lashing out or even attacking Uchiha Itachi earlier in the classroom. She has to keep reminding herself that the current Uchiha Itachi is a mere seven years old boy. He isn't the cold hearted and ruthless ninja that he had turned out to be when he had become an ANBU captain at thirteen years old.

Yuri then blinked. She recalled something that Kakashi had told her once about Itachi. The silver haired jounin had been Itachi's squad captain when he had been an ANBU. He had told her that he had an initial suspicion that Itachi might have cracked a little beneath all the pressure that his own family kept piling on him. The mission to wipe out his traitorous clan might just have been the last straw for him.

'_Well, he won't become that if I have anything to do with it.' _Yuri thought grimly. She has no desire to fight the genius Uchiha again.

The door to the rooftop swung opened just then, and the redhead looked up only to see the Hyuuga in her team breathing heavily, holding the door opened, trying to catch back his breath before he took a steady pace, walking towards Yuri and sitting down in front of her. Itachi followed him next, a stick of Pocky jutting out in between his lips, beads of sweat visible on his forehead. The boy is the youngest of the three genins after all; his legs aren't as long as his teammates, and not to mention that he doesn't have as much stamina as the two older boys. The last to appear is a ten-year-old Umino Iruka who is breathing heavily, apparently having ran all the way just to catch up to his teammates.

Yuri glanced at her wristwatch as the three genins sat down in front of her. Yuri's sharp eyes noticed that Iruka and the Hyuuga in her team sat a little distance away from Itachi, with Hyuuga Kisuke sitting in between Iruka and Itachi both, yet still keeping a fair distance from Itachi. Iruka was right next to Kisuke, and judging by their individual body language, Yuri could tell that the two are apparently close friends, possibly even best friends.

And that is unusual in itself, as the members of the Hyuuga clan generally don't mix around with 'commoners'. In fact, the only Hyuugas whom Yuri knew of that does that back in her time are only Neji and Hinata. It is better and easier for the Hyuuga clan to befriend others not of noble lineage this time around, especially with the new seal, and the abolishment of the Bird Caged Seal as well as the Elder Council, but as the saying goes, 'Rome wasn't built in a day'. In the same way, the Hyuuga clan won't just change overnight.

Yuri sighed to herself as she studied the three members of her genin team. It is going to take a lot of work to whip them into shape. If anything else, Yuri believes in teamwork most of all. It is true that each individual must have their own strength to rely on, but they must also learn teamwork.

Iruka and Kisuke are the two oldest of the entire genin team – both being at the age of ten or so, fast approaching their eleventh birthdays. Because they're still recovering from the war, Minato had lowered the normal graduation age, but not allowing anyone below the age of ten to graduate _unless _the Academy head instructor can convince him otherwise. Itachi is the only graduate that year below the age of ten to graduate early, being only seven or eight years old.

Yuri had read the profiles of the three genins that she was given, and had quite an 'interesting' conversation with the Academy's head instructor earlier before she had gone to get her genins. Apparently, she was given quite the interesting team, as the Hyuuga and the Uchiha in her team are like fire and water. They simply don't mix or get along at all.

And given the rivalry between both their clans, Yuri is not surprised. It just so happens that there isn't a Namikaze graduate in that year, or it'll be a remake of Minato's old genin team during his genin days. It made Yuri wonder for a moment if Takara's future genin team will be a remake of Minato's old genin team, since her birth year consists of the most number of clan heirs.

Yuri turned her gaze towards the Hyuuga in her team – Hyuuga Kisuke.

She was given quite a surprise in the beginning when she learned that he is Neji's older brother in this timeline, and seemed almost like a carbon copy of him, sans for the fact that Kisuke only kept the length of his hair to just below his shoulders so that it doesn't get in the way of battle. He wore the typical Hyuuga white garbs, with a black fishnet shirt worn beneath his white garbs, with black pants and ninja sandals. His hitai-ate was tied around his neck, revealing an unmarked forehead, with the teardrop seal tattooed on his left hand. After the new seal's creation, practically most, if not all Hyuugas, have walked about proudly with unmarked foreheads, as if declaring to the world that they are no longer slaves.

Yuri had remembered Neji mentioning this to her once in passing when she had visited him in the hospital after the retrieval mission. The Hyuuga mentioned that he had an older brother once who had died when he was still little in some mission that had gone wrong.

His father's death wasn't the only thing that had caused Neji to hate the Main House in the beginning before Yuri had smacked some sense into him. His brother's death also had a large part to play in it, as it was later revealed that if his brother had been taught the full Hyuuga skills, he wouldn't have died. It is common knowledge in the village after all that there are certain skills that the Branch House members wouldn't be able to learn.

As Yuri studied Kisuke, she noted just from his body language and mannerisms alone that Kisuke didn't seem like the regular Hyuuga with the kunai-stuck-up-his-ass attitude. She smiled to herself. He is really just like Hyuuga Hizashi, the man whom she'd met when Deidara had just arrived at the Leaf village.

Yuri's attention was turned towards Iruka the next.

The first instructor that she had who had believed in her, and who had taught her to believe in herself. He is also the first person to protect her, and to defend her from certain death after Mizuki had tried killing her. At last, she had a chance to repay him for everything that he had taught her.

The now genin Iruka had a rather cheeky look to his face, reminding Yuri of Obito before his near death experience had changed him, and he is wearing a black fishnet shirt beneath a deep blood-red shirt, with a pair of baggy black pants, his brunette hair did up in a ponytail.

And now the final member of her team…

Yuri barely suppressed a groan when she looked at Uchiha Itachi who just stared back at her with that Pocky jutting out in between his lips. If she has anything to say about it, she'll not allow Itachi to progress through the ninja ranks so quickly, screw what the Council and the Uchiha clan says.

"Ten minutes." Yuri deadpanned, staring at the face of her watch, and back to her genin team once more. "We really need to start working on your speed." She then cleared her throat as Kisuke and Iruka blushed slightly. "Alright, if you don't already know, I am your jounin instructor." She stated. "You guys also happen to be my first team, so forgive me if I'm a little new at this teaching business. Why don't we start by telling each other about your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future or something?"

The three genins looked at each other before Iruka put up his hand. "Why don't you go first, sensei?" he suggested.

Yuri stared at Iruka before she smirked evilly inwardly. Well, no one ever said that she couldn't screw around with the minds of the three young genins… Call this payback, Uchiha Itachi.

"Alright. If you don't already know who I am, my name is Namikaze Yuri," said Yuri simply. "I have many likes and dislikes, none of which you should know about. I have a few hobbies. And as for my dreams for the future… Hmm… You know what? I've never really thought about it. That's it."

Yuri was laughing inwardly at the faces on the three genins. _Oh man! Thanks, Kakashi-sensei, for giving this crappy introduction during __**my **__first day as a genin!_

The three genins of team five can only stare incredulously at their jounin instructor. _'All that she told us was her name!' _was the general thought shared by the three genins.

"Okay, the Hyuuga first," said Yuri, gesturing towards Kisuke with her chin, still with her arms folded across her chest, one foot resting against the surface of the wall of the edge of the rooftop that she is sitting on, the other foot on the ground.

Kisuke nodded. "My name is Hyuuga Kisuke," he said. "I like training, my little brother and my father, and weapons." Yuri stared. This must be the first Hyuuga that had liked weapons. Even if the clan is changing, those changes have been a little slow. "I dislike a certain clan—" At this, Kisuke shot a glare at Itachi who promptly glared back. "—the members of the former Elder Council, and people with sticks too far up their asses! My dream for the future is to be the best kenjutsu specialist in Konoha and the ninja world, and to possibly be an ANBU captain!"

Yuri managed a small smile. _'Times are changing. Changes happen as time passes. This applies to humans and all things living. Neji, I've fulfilled my promise to you.'_

"Next, the Uchiha."

"I'm Uchiha Itachi." Yuri fought back a note of surprise as she had almost expected to hear the Uchiha heir's usual deep voice instead of the child-like high voice that she is now hearing. She then nearly cackled as she remembered something interesting. That means that Itachi's voice hadn't cracked yet. It would make her day to hear Itachi's voice change in the middle of the battlefield as he shouted out a jutsu name or something. "I like reading, training, Pocky, playing shougi and Go, my little brother, as well as sleeping. I dislike a certain _asshole—" _Itachi half-glared at Kisuke who glared back. "—some of the clan elders, and…war." Itachi's voice was quiet as he said that, and Iruka and Kisuke both looked surprised. Yuri's expression didn't change, as she kind of expected that coming from Itachi, given what she knew about his past. "My dreams for the future? Never really thought about it, but it's probably to become the village's best ANBU captain."

'_Well, you won't be becoming that so soon in your ninja career if I had anything to say about it.' _Yuri thought to herself. She then sighed. _'Great. And he kind of reminds me of Shikamaru. He seems a little lazy outside of missions and training. And if he is as good at shougi and Go like Shika, he'll probably make a good strategist.'_

"Last of all, the boy with the ponytail."

Iruka grinned cheekily. "I'm Umino Iruka!" he proclaimed. "I like Anko-chan—" Kisuke snickered. "—manga, training and pranks—" At this point, both Itachi and Kisuke glared at Iruka. Apparently, they have been victims of his pranks in the past. "I dislike people who can't take a joke, those that interrupt my sleep—" Yuri made a mental note to buy Iruka an alarm clock. "—and people who pick on others for no reason." He had an angered look on his face at that, and Yuri had a suspicion that Iruka is referring to those anti-Anko factions. "As for my dreams for the future? Well… I guess it is to be an Academy instructor or something." He mumbled.

Yuri smiled to herself at that before she cleared her throat, and the three genins paid rapt attention to her.

"Alright, you are all unique, and tomorrow, we're going to have the genin test."

"Genin test? What genin test?" Kisuke asked in confusion. "I thought that we are already genin?"

Yuri shook her head. "Despite the Hokage's recent changes to the Academy curriculum that made the usual graduation test much more difficult than before, the graduation test still isn't the final one," she explained. "We're still recovering from the war after all. That test is just held to see if you fulfil the Academy and Hokage-sama's requirements for being a Konoha ninja." She studied each face. "The real test is given by the jounin instructor." Yuri stated, and the three genins perked up. "This training has a failure rate of 73.8 percent, so I'll advise you to be prepared if you want to pass. Meet me at training ground five tomorrow at eight in the morning. Also, I'll advise you not to eat anything before your test." Yuri smirked evilly at the three genins, and the three boys shuddered at the look on their jounin instructor's face. "…not unless you want to barf everything up."

**XXXXXX**

"Eto… What else am I missing?" A grumpy Namiashi Raidou muttered to himself as he stood in the middle of Konoha's local grocery store where all of Konoha's inhabitants go to get their supplies, a basket hanging over one arm, with the other hand holding onto his shopping list.

After he had became a chuunin with the death of his parents during the war, he had basically moved into an apartment with one of his old classmates from his Academy days, Gekkou Hayate. And usually, the two young men take turns to go shopping for any necessary necessities that they need, with the occasional instant food that is about the only thing that they _knew _how to cook, as the two boys are complete disasters in the kitchen! That week happens to be Raidou's turn, as Hayate is _busy _with his girlfriend, Uzuki Yugao.

And Raidou decided that everyone around him really needed to stop getting together one after the other. Next thing he knew, he'll be getting a wedding invitation anytime now. It is like everyone is pairing up these days, and it wasn't like he was bitter or anything either.

He was upset definitely, when he realised that he really needed to let go of Yuri.

The redhead was the first girl that he was ever serious about, and had serious feelings towards, and it hurts that she only had eyes for his best friend. And all he could do is to smile and wish them good luck. And now, look at how happy they are. He had even overheard Deidara joking with Hayate, Izumo and Kotetsu the other day about how he rarely sees Genma these days, as he is always over at Yuri's apartment. And it can't help but hurt.

For some time now, he had been feeling lonely, and at times, unneeded. Though he longed to have someone to love, and be loved in return, he knew that everyone was happily attached, and he definitely isn't about to do anything drastic just to get someone.

Raidou has no desire to end up like that Haruno Ren woman, who is 'unofficially' exiled from Konoha. Haruno Sayako is in no way impressed with how Haruno Ren had tried to throw herself at Genma, and had 'asked' Ren 'politely' to go and deal with some shipping stuff in a port town somewhere in Fire Country. That had been nearly two months ago. And for some reason, Sayako seems to have plenty of business in said port town that _needs _someone to keep a physical eye on…

"Hmm…" Raidou frowned as he surveyed the next item on the list. "'Olive oil'." He muttered. "What the hell is that?"

He started looking around him as if the item would somehow magically appear in front of him. A feminine voice called out to him just then, and Raidou gave a start.

"Raidou?" Yukina Haku looked very confused as she approached him, apparently having came here for some shopping supplies as well, as she had a half-full basket clutched in one hand, a shopping list in the other hand. "What are you doing here?"

Raidou sighed. "Same reason as you, I suppose," he said, gesturing towards the basket and shopping list that Haku had been holding, and she blushed.

"Oh. Well, both Gaara and I haven't cleaned up or anything around our apartment, as we have been sent on so many missions lately. I had the rest of the week off, and I thought that I should do some cleaning, as our apartment is fast becoming a pigsty." She sighed. "What about you? What are you doing?"

"Trying to find this 'olive oil' that Hayate had put on this list, along with several others." Raidou grunted, showing Haku the shopping list.

"Olive oil? Is Hayate planning to cook?" Haku looked confused. "I hope for his sake at least that he had improved from the last time that he had tried cooking, with disastrous results, I might add. He nearly set our kitchen on fire." She muttered, recalling the last time when Hayate had stayed over at hers and Gaara's apartment, and had tried cooking. Haku had to use a quick water jutsu in order to put out the fire. Gaara wasn't pleased in the least.

Raidou sighed. "I'm glad that you're here at least. Can you help me out with this?" he asked desperately. "I don't even know what half the things on here are!"

Haku giggled. "Give me the shopping list," she said, obvious amusement in her voice. "I'm doing my shopping anyway. I'll give you a hand here. And if what I've heard from Yugao is of any indication, I'll help you to clean your apartment as well. And in return, you can help me with _mine."_

Raidou grinned and nodded in relief as he handed Haku the shopping list as she surveyed the list with a critical eye, her lips quirking with amusement every now and then as she came across an item written on that list. The ice maiden finally looked up at Raidou, her eyes telling Raidou that she is about to burst out in laughter.

"I hope for both your sakes that Hayate isn't about to cook in your kitchen." Haku finally choked out. "Half of the ingredients listed on here are only used in some pretty complicated recipes. I can only make about a quarter of the food recipes that uses these ingredients, and even then, I need Yuri's help for this. She is the chef in our group, not me. And if Hayate is planning on giving Yugao a surprise, I hope that it is a _pleasant_ surprise, _not _an unpleasant one." She giggled again. "Come on, I'll help you with this."

Raidou then smiled and put out a hand, causing Haku to blink owlishly. "Seeing as how you're going to help me with my shopping, I should at least be a gentleman and help you with your load." Raidou said with a charming smile. "May I?"

Haku blushed before allowing Raidou to take her shopping basket from her. She then turned and walked down the aisle, glancing at the shelves on either side of her for the stuff that they each need for their individual apartments.

And for the first time in many months, as Raidou tagged along after the ice maiden, he was filled to the brim with hope.

Maybe, just maybe, this might just be the chance that he had been waiting for.

**XXXXXX**

Shiranui Genma can't help chuckling that night as he was over at Yuri's house, with the two going over their paperwork.

The redhead had told him about her new genin team, and he can't help snickering. The senbon chewing jounin had been given a genin team that year as well, but something told him that those three simply couldn't make it as a ninja. And if his instincts are proven right, those three won't even be able to pass his test the next morning.

"So you got the Uchiha heir, a Hyuuga, and Konoha's most notorious prankster in your team?" Genma chuckled, placing another stack of paperwork neatly beside him, setting to work on the final stack. Three years after the end of the war, thankfully, the amount of paperwork that the jounins have to work on is considerably lessened. "What a setup." He shook his head.

Yuri smacked him on the arm as he continued chuckling, a frown on her face. "It isn't funny!" she snapped. "I don't even know how I'm going to get them to work together, seriously. The Hyuuga and the Uchiha both looked ready to kill each other. Only Umino and the Hyuuga could work together as a team. And if the Uchiha is anything like all the other Uchihas whom I have seen so far, team five is doomed. There is a KIA (killed-in-action) waiting to happen."

Genma chuckled. "Well, it's you. You're bound to find a way," he said cheerfully.

Yuri said nothing but continued to work on her paperwork. After she and Genma have 'gotten together' of sorts, Deidara and Raidou have both turned in her apartment keys to her, with the former stating with a grin that he has no desire to walk in on her and Genma 'doing stuff'.

Finally, the redhead sighed, stacking the paperwork together neatly, and binding them together, ready to hand them to the Administrative Office the next day.

After Minato had became Hokage, he had basically created a special department whose jobs are to handle all the mundane stuff and small affairs that doesn't need the Hokage's attention.

Basically, they are 'office ninjas', with the people in that department mainly being genins or chuunins who couldn't rise to a higher rank, and aren't strong enough to be sent out of the village on missions, or even civilians who weren't able to graduate from the ninja Academy, but has some ninja knowledge. Even some members of the village's civilian militia are involved in the department.

"We're finally done!" Yuri sighed. "The only good thing about being a jounin instructor is that the amount of paperwork that I have to handle is greatly reduced. But the headaches aren't worth it." She sighed.

Genma chuckled before he looked at the ivory clock on the wall. It is currently ten at night, and by habit, he glanced over at the huge glass window that basically replaced one side of the wall in the sitting room – that overlooks the entire village of Konoha. As it is currently night, the buildings of Konoha are lighted up with lights, particularly the top of the Hokage Tower.

No matter how many times he had seen it, he will never tire of it.

"It's getting late," said Genma. "I should get going—"

A tug on his arm stopped him, and Genma turned only to see Yuri resting against his shoulder, rubbing her eyes. "No," she said quietly. "I want to spend the night with you."

Genma stared at her for a long time before he chuckled and wrapped one arm around her waist, shifting their positions so that their faces were towards each other. "Geez…" he muttered. "You really enjoy stirring me up like this, huh?" He murmured even as he rested his hand gently against the back of Yuri's neck, guiding her face gently towards his, as he pressed his lips against hers.

**XXXXXX**

_The Next Morning  
Training Ground Five_

"Morning…" Hyuuga Kisuke yawned the next morning at twenty minutes to eight in training ground five, as he entered the training grounds at a slow walk, a katana resting on his back. Umino Iruka was already present, sitting with his back against one of the three training posts in the training grounds. Uchiha Itachi was also present, dozing off whilst lying on the ground. "Sensei isn't here yet?"

Kisuke had told his father and uncle who had been assigned as his jounin instructor the previous night at dinner, and he still can't get over the bemused expressions on both their faces, as the clan head and his second exchanged looks. Hyuuga Hizashi had then solemnly told his son that he'll only give him one piece of _very _good advice: don't rely solely on his Byakugan during the test. It won't work.

"Nope, but we're early anyway." Iruka yawned as Kisuke sat down on the ground, sitting with his back resting against one of the training posts. "Did you eat breakfast?"

Kisuke nodded sleepily. "My father almost force fed me this morning after practically yanking me out of bed."

Iruka was about to say something when there was a light poof, and both Kisuke and Iruka looked up, with Itachi opening his eyes a moment later. Namikaze Yuri was standing before them, a brown sack in one hand that she had placed down on the ground next to her.

"Good, you three came early," said Yuri with a satisfied nod. "Did you eat breakfast this morning?"

There was a moment of hesitance before both Kisuke and Iruka nodded, whilst Itachi said nothing. Something unfamiliar flickered across Yuri's eyes before she smiled evilly, and the three genins shivered at the evil look.

"Alright, shall we begin the test then?" Yuri asked almost happily, and Kisuke was almost afraid to ask what the test is going to be. That almost…happy look on his sensei's face is scary.

"What are we going to do for the test, sensei?" asked Iruka curiously, and the other two boys perked up immediately, eagerly awaiting instructions.

Yuri smiled before she placed the middle finger and the thumb of her right hand into her mouth and whistled shrilly. With a quick blur, six white wolves appeared from out of nowhere, sitting on their haunches in front of the three surprised genins, a Konoha hitai-ate tied around their necks.

Without a doubt, the six wolves are _beautiful. _They are each about the size of a common housedog, with unique amber eyes that kind of remind the genins of the moon. Even the largest wolf that is sitting in the middle is only a little larger than the rest of the wolves.

Yuri then turned back towards the three surprised genins. "Alright, these six wolves are my summons," she told them. "I've given each of them a coloured tag—" Yuri knelt down by the side of the nearest wolf, and lifted the hitai-ate tied around the neck of the wolf slightly to show the genins a red tag hidden behind the hitai-ate. "Your main objective in this test is to find the wolf carrying the black tag in order to pass." She told them. "But be careful though. These wolves are battle wolves, and they are vicious and ferocious in battle." The six wolves bared six sets of very impressive teeth at the frightened genins. "Also, all of them are skilled at genjutsu, and I've given them permission to use genjutsu to disguise the look of their tags. Think of this test as a game of sorts that I've no doubt that all of you have played at least once when you are kids. There are rules to follow."

The genins looked at their sensei curiously. Yuri put up one finger. "First, neither you or the wolves are permitted to leave the area of the training grounds. I am a seals' mistress, as I've no doubt that each of you knew." She received three nods for that. "I've placed barrier seals around the training grounds even before you have each arrived that is specially designed to keep people in. If any of you tried leaving the area, well, let's just say that you're in for a nasty surprise."

Yuri shrugged nonchalantly, and the genins immediately decided that they didn't want to know what the 'surprise' is. "Two, treat this test as a real combat situation, and the wolves as your enemies. Do everything that you can to get the black tag from that one wolf. If you hurt one of them, it'll turn into a real battle situation. And as I've stated before, they are skilled at genjutsu, and I've given them permission to cloak their tags in genjutsu so that you won't know which wolf is carrying the right tag."

The wolves each gave a very wolfish grin.

"Three, you are _not _to kill or hurt any of the wolves. Do that, and it is back to the Academy for a year. Of course, that is providing if I don't catch you first." The steely look in Yuri's eyes told the three genins that she isn't kidding. "Your main objective here, as stated before, is to get the black tag from the wolf that is carrying it without hurting, maiming or killing any of them. The unfortunate soul who didn't will go back to the Academy for another year. And I'll tie you to those training posts over there, and I'll even _eat _in front of you." Yuri took out the stuff in the sack as she said so, revealing three enormous bentos that smelled simply wonderful.

Sweat drops formed on the back of the heads of the three genins. _'So that's why she told us not to eat.' _All three deadpanned, with Kisuke and Iruka feeling relieved that they've listened to their parents that morning.

"Now, show me the equipment that you have, each of you." Yuri ordered, and the three boys obediently showed the jounin the weapons that they each have with them.

The three genins have the standard set of weapons that every ninja has – kunais, shurikens, ninja wire, flash bombs, smoke bombs, explosive tags, and even the standard emergency bandage rolls. Though Kisuke has his sword with him, and for some reason, Iruka has some weird looking balls with him that resembles the smoke bombs, but aren't.

Yuri nodded, seemingly satisfied with something before she reached into her pack and drew out three strange looking paper seals that didn't seem like any of the seals that the genins have learnt at the Academy. The redhead then handed one paper seal to each of the genins.

"Those paper seals are special," she said. "You only have one chance to use them. They are designed to deactivation after you've used it once. You'll know when to use it…if you ever figure it out yourself." She said mysteriously. "Also, there are hidden traps hidden all over the training grounds. Be careful and try to avoid them if you can." Yuri then reached into the nearly empty sack once more before drawing out an alarm clock and twisting at the knobs on the back of it before she placed it in the middle of a large tree stump in the middle of the training grounds. "I'll give you three until noon to get the black tag." She told the genins. "That gives you four hours. The ones that didn't get the tag will be sent back to the Academy for a year." Yuri nodded to the wolves that vanished in quick blurs, and she then turned her attention back to the genins. "And like I've said earlier, treat this as a real combat situation. Do everything that you can to get the tag, but you are not to maim, hurt or kill any of them. Split!"

At this, all three genins disappeared in quick blurs.

Yuri glanced at her watch as she sat down on the tree stump where she'd placed the alarm clock on and the three bentos, before glancing up at the sky, shielding her eyes from the sun. The redhead had designed her test a little differently from how Kakashi had tested _her _old genin team, as team five has zero to no teamwork between them, sans for Kisuke and Iruka, whilst with her old genin team, at the very least, there is still mutual understanding between her, Sasuke and Sakura.

'_I wonder if those three will figure out the real meaning of the test in time? Or if they will even figure out the use of the tag that I've given them.' _Yuri wondered to herself. There was an explosion somewhere in training ground five just then, startling a flock of birds to take flight from the trees, and Yuri glanced up. _'Ah. That's one trap activated.' _She smiled to herself. _'Shirou and the others are sure having some fun.'_

* * *

Hyuuga Kisuke nearly sweat dropped as he finally found Iruka after the loud explosion, only to find his best friend hanging by one foot from a nearby tree, a rope tied around his ankle. The Hyuuga then sighed as he threw a kunai at the rope, hereby releasing Iruka.

"That's like the oldest trick in the book, you know?" Kisuke told his friend, dead panned. Iruka glared at him.

Both boys then heard a rustling in the bushes behind them just then, and acting on sheer instinct, Iruka let fly a kunai, causing a wolf to leap out of the bushes, snarling and baring his very impressive teeth at them.

"Iruka." Kisuke spoke, unsheathing his sword, and turning it so that the blade is upturned – so that he wouldn't kill or hurt a wolf by mistake. His sensei would murder him if he does so, and he has no wish to get on the wrong foot with the redhead.

Iruka nodded before he took a kunai in each hand, a smirk on his face. "Just like in the training exercises at the Academy," he said. "Let's go!"

The wolf leapt to the side, trying to get away from the two boys, but Iruka immediately threw a kunai just before the wolf, startling him for just a moment that is enough for Iruka to throw himself on the wolf, wrapping his arms around the warm body. The wolf struggled and growled dangerously, but Iruka didn't budge, and Kisuke immediately went towards the wolf, sticking the blade of his sword into the ground, preventing the wolf from feasting on him as he slipped his hand into the gap between the wolf's body and the hitai-ate, feeling his fingers touching the tag.

Kisuke immediately drew the tag out, only to see that it's a red one. The Hyuuga frowned before recalling his sensei's words; that the wolves are genjutsu users as well, and he immediately forming several quick handseals, and muttered 'Kai!'

The tag remained unchanged, and Kisuke shook his head at Iruka who got off the wolf. "We got a red one," he said. The wolf then shook Iruka off him as he vanished in a light poof of smoke. "That makes two wolves down then, as I've taken one out earlier, and he got a green tag that is disguised in a two layered genjutsu." Kisuke took out the green tag from his pack.

Iruka looked confused. "Why didn't you use your Byakugan?" he asked. "You should be able to see through genjutsu with it, right?"

Kisuke shook his head, much to Iruka's confusion. "It won't work. Apparently, sensei knew just how the Byakugan works, which I'm not surprised at, seeing as how she did help design the new seal after all." He glanced at the teardrop seal tattooed on his hand. "My Byakugan can't work right now. The seals around the training ground probably have something to do with it."

Iruka frowned. "Something is wrong," he said. "This test is a little too over the top for something that we have to handle on our own. The wolves are damn ferocious, and I need to get your help in order to get the red tag if we don't want to hurt them. The only way for us to get the right tag is if…" Iruka's eyes widened in realisation, and Kisuke nodded, having come to the same conclusion earlier.

"It's teamwork." Kisuke finished his sentence. A dark look appeared over his face just then. "I really don't like the Uchiha, but I think we have no choice but to get his help." He sighed, turning away. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

'_That's four wolves down.' _Yuri thought, sensing the usual prickling sensation on her left arm whenever one of her summons dismissed themselves. _'Not bad. And then again, I did make sure that those six wolves are something that genins can handle.' _She then smirked. _'I wonder…if they can even handle Shirou. That wolf is one of the more powerful wolves for my summons. If they don't work together to capture him, they'll fail. And the normal methods aren't enough to defeat Shirou.'_

* * *

"Damn it, you fucking Uchiha! Do you want us to fail?" Kisuke roared at an emotionless Itachi as Iruka fussed over the wolf that is whimpering, lying on the ground, with the telltale signs of a fire jutsu having been used. "Sensei said that we are not to maim, hurt or kill any of the wolves!"

"_And _she also said to use any methods to get the tags." Itachi shot back. "I got one. Look." And he waved around a black tag, and Kisuke's eyes widened. "Looks like I get to be a genin, and you both can just go back to the Academy."

"Not so fast." Kisuke frowned as he eyed the tag. Something seems a little off. He formed a number of handseals before muttering 'Kai!' The genjutsu surrounding the tag was then dispelled, revealing a dark blue tag instead. "I knew it."

"I dispelled the genjutsu earlier!" Itachi insisted.

"That's a triple layered genjutsu." Kisuke told him coldly. "And if you had forgotten, allow me to refresh your memory. I had been the class's top genjutsu user during our time at the Academy." He then turned towards Iruka who is about the only one among the three of them who had any knowledge on first aid. "Iruka, how is it?"

"Well, he isn't badly burned, and I've treated whatever wounds that he had." Iruka said, glancing up at Kisuke after having bandaged the wolf's wounds. "I'll send up a signal flare to alert sensei about this guy, and then let's get out of here." He shivered. "I don't think that I want to be near once sensei finds him."

Kisuke and Itachi both gulped. Somehow, they could tell that their sensei had a soft spot for her wolves, as is evident by her tone earlier. For once, all three boys are in agreement, and Itachi prayed silently for any god out there to protect him from the redhead's wrath. He had heard the stories of how Yuri had butted heads with his father on several occasions, especially during that time when his father had wanted to put out his cousin's eyes when he had lost his arm during a mission to Earth Country.

Iruka patted the whimpering wolf on the head who leaned into his touch, as Kisuke fumbled about in his pack for a signal flare. "Don't worry. Sensei will take care of you. You'll be fine." Iruka told the wolf, who licked his hand affectionately.

"Iruka, come on, let's go. We still have one last wolf to find, and only about an hour left before noon." Kisuke told him before he sent the signal flare up.

Iruka nodded.

* * *

'_I am going to kill them.' _

That was the current thought running through Yuri's head as she examined her injured wolf carefully, careful with his injuries, if the light whimpers that the injured wolf is giving is of any indication. There are a number of reasons why she had chosen wolf pups for this test – as they are more playful and wouldn't be liable to hurt the genins. Actual combat wolves lived for combat, and would forget that they aren't supposed to take this seriously, and might actually harm them.

The wolf pup licked at Yuri's hand, and her eyes softened as she patted the wolf on the head. "Don't worry, you'll be fine," she said. "I'll take you to the vet later, so just bear with it for the time being."

The wolf whimpered.

* * *

"What the hell did you do?" Kisuke screamed at Itachi as they ran through the trees that surrounded the training grounds, with an _extremely _angry wolf chasing after them. Iruka hadn't even bothered to shout at Itachi, and is far ahead in front of them – the brunette had always been the fastest in their entire class, and this proves it.

Kisuke and Iruka have both spent about ten minutes earlier, trying to convince Itachi that this test is all about _teamwork, _when they heard a ferocious growl, and the largest wolf of the six wolves that they have seen had popped up from out of nowhere, chasing after them. And unlike the previous five that had seemed more like wolf pups, this one seems to be a fully-fledged adult, judging by the size.

"I didn't do _anything!" _Itachi screamed at Kisuke before he gave a start as he tripped over a protruding tree branch and landed face-first on the ground. "Ow!"

"Itachi!" Kisuke shouted in fear, as the wolf growled and leapt through the air, ready to pounce on Itachi, and start tearing him to pieces. "Oh no, you don't!" Kisuke didn't like Itachi, but at the same time, he isn't heartless enough to just leave the younger boy as wolf food. The Hyuuga immediately took his sheathed sword without even bothering to unsheathe the sword and immediately swatted at the angry wolf with it. "Leave him alone!"

His sheathed sword smacked the wolf on the nose just then, and the wolf let out a pained howl before he glared at Kisuke and disappeared through the bushes. Kisuke then sighed and knelt down by Itachi, offering him a hand. "Are you alright?"

Itachi groaned slightly as he took Kisuke's hand, and pulled himself into a sitting position. "Thanks," he mumbled. "And I think I've sprained my foot." Kisuke raised an eyebrow as Itachi tested his right ankle gingerly, and the Hyuuga noted a blue-black bruise already starting to form around the ankle, and winced. That looks like it hurt. "You should go ahead and group with Iruka. I don't think that I am going to pass anyway, even if I got the right tag. Sensei is going to be furious that I hurt one of her wolves."

Kisuke looks as if he had just swallowed a lemon. An _extremely _sour lemon.

"You are _joking _if you thought that I'm going to just leave an injured person, and not to mention someone younger than me out here with an angry wolf on the prowl!" Kisuke told Itachi harshly who looked at him with surprise. "You are my teammate! And have you forgotten what Hokage-sama had told us at the graduation ceremony? 'Know thyself and know thy enemy, and you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.'" Kisuke recited. "And have you forgotten what sensei had told us? 'If you hurt one of them, it'll turn into a real battle situation.'"

Itachi's face lost all colour at that.

"Besides, Konoha ninjas never abandon one of their own!" Kisuke told Itachi firmly. "I don't like you, but I will never forsake a comrade. And also…"

"Also?"

"You aren't like all the other Uchihas." Iruka's voice spoke up just then, and both boys turned to see the brunette approaching them. "And Kisuke, you're as dramatic as always." Kisuke blushed. "Itachi, if there is one Uchiha whom I think I can get along with, I think it might be you. You aren't like the rest of your clan. You don't think yourself better than anyone. And besides, Konoha Ninja Charter 16: Believe in your comrades and help each other." He closed his eyes before opening them again. "If we're going to pass this test, we do it together as a team!"

"How?" Itachi asked quietly, and even though he refused to admit it, he felt very touched at Kisuke and Iruka's words. No one had ever said something like that to him before. "I can't help you."

Kisuke frowned as he thought hard before he remembered something. "Take out the tags that sensei had given us," he commanded before he took out his own tag. Raising their eyebrows, Iruka and Itachi obeyed, and Kisuke examined the tags carefully. "I knew it! I'm not entirely sure, but I think these are containment barrier tags, set to work if all three tags are activated at the same time. Sensei might have given us these to deal with that wolf. And in order to use these successfully, we have to work together. In other words, teamwork."

Itachi was silent before he spoke up. "I have a plan," he said. "I'll be the bait. I'll lure the wolf to me. We'll use that chance to activate the tags. It is going to be risky, as if we don't time it right…"

"You'll literally become wolf food." Iruka finished. He then sighed. "Well, it's worth a try. We don't have much time left anyway. Let's set up the tags."

Kisuke nodded before he took Itachi's tag, and slapped the tag against the trunk of a tree before doing the same to the opposite tree. Iruka was busy with a tree just ahead of him, also fiddling with something in his pack. All three boys stiffened when they heard a low growl in the distance just then, and Kisuke and Iruka both scaled the trees that they're at immediately, with a pale-faced Itachi sitting where he was. He might say otherwise, but he is terrified. If it hadn't been for Kisuke, he would have been mauled alive earlier.

The wolf from earlier appeared just then, baring his fangs and ran towards a petrified Itachi with impressive speed. A sword came hurtling out of nowhere, striking the ground just in front of the wolf, and he stopped in his tracks for just one moment. It is that moment that the three boys need. At Itachi's shout of 'Now!', all three formed a single handseal simultaneously, and a golden triangular barrier was formed, keeping the wolf inside.

The wolf growled and bashed his head against the barrier before Iruka frowned. "I knew that I'll find these useful," he muttered, before he pulled out the odd-looking balls in his pack, and threw them at the wolf. The balls started giving out smoke, with a pungent smell wafting from it, and all three boys covered their mouths and noses, coughing occasionally.

"What the hell? Stink bombs?" Kisuke coughed, glaring at a sheepish Iruka. "Were you planning to prank sensei or something?"

Iruka laughed sheepishly. "Well, if wolves' senses are as strong as I've heard, it would knock him out easily."

He then leapt back down onto the ground, being followed by Kisuke. The smoke soon cleared away, revealing a barely conscious wolf lying on the ground. Iruka immediately went towards the wolf, and slipped his fingers between the wolf's body and the hitai-ate, drawing out a black tag.

"We got it!" Iruka sighed in relief.

Itachi narrowed his eyes as he saw the wolf recovering slowly. "Iruka, get away!"

"Huh?" Iruka turned around only to see the slowly recovering wolf standing up slowly, growling at him menacingly. "Oh shit."

The wolf snarled and looked ready to leap onto Iruka, when a loud thud of something on metallic distracted him, and Kisuke turned only to see Itachi throwing a rock towards them from where he is, with the rock bouncing off the steel of the blade of his sword, creating a metallic sound each time. Itachi had been at the top of the class for target practice, and something like this isn't difficult for him.

"Leave him alone!" Itachi shouted.

"Okay! That is enough!" A voice called out, and the three boys, including the one wolf, looked upwards only to see Yuri standing atop one of the tree branches, a stern look on her face, with her arms crossed over her chest. The redhead then looked towards the wolf. "Shirou, that is enough. Tsuki is all right. I'll look after him until he recovers, so go back for now."

Shirou, the wolf, seemed satisfied and relieved before he vanished in a poof of smoke. Yuri then sighed and leapt down to the ground, glancing at the three genins, then looking at the black tag clutched in Iruka's fingers. "Looks like you've made it in time," she told them, just as the alarm from the alarm clock rang shrilly, echoing around them. "Come on, follow me. Kisuke, help Itachi."

Kisuke nodded before kneeling down before Itachi, allowing the younger boy to climb onto his back. "Thanks for the save," he said as he pulled his sword out of the ground and followed Iruka and Yuri out towards the main part of the training grounds. "For helping Iruka."

"You saved me earlier, right?" Itachi muttered, as they reached the main part of the training ground, where the injured wolf from earlier was lying on the ground, whining to Yuri. "I'm just returning the favour."

Yuri patted the wolf on the head and turned towards Kisuke and Itachi. "Put him there," she instructed, gesturing towards the tree stump, which Kisuke did. The redhead then knelt down before Itachi, examining his injured foot. "Well, it just seems like a bad twist. You'll be fine if you just rest up for the next few days." She told him. Yuri then got up. "Alright." She looked from one genin to the other, even as the other two sat on either side of the tree stump. "Now I'll just ask one question: what is the purpose of this test?"

The three genins didn't miss a beat as they answered as one. "It's teamwork." All three echoed together.

Yuri smiled and nodded. "That's correct," she said. "You've figured it out. And I am very tempted to fail you all here because of what had happened to Tsuki." She glanced at the injured wolf by her side before turning back towards the genins. "But I'll let it pass this once as his injuries aren't very serious anyway." Itachi looked guilty at that. "Congratulations, you passed. Team five officially begins now." She then glanced at Itachi. "Itachi, do you understand what being a ninja is all about now?"

Itachi looked surprised, but he nodded slowly.

"Being a ninja isn't just about jutsu or strength, though those are qualities that every ninja is required to have," said Yuri. "Why do you think that Konoha is the strongest of the five main villages, and why do you think that we have been able to win every war thus far? It is because we have something that the other villages do not. We believe in each other, and we help each other. Thus Konoha's ninja charter: 'Believe in your comrades and help each other'. We Konoha ninjas do not forsake one of our own, unless we have a _very _good reason for it." Yuri's face darkened slightly at that. _'Like during a mission.' _

As a jounin, Yuri had taken on sensitive missions that sometimes require a member of the team to stay behind to delay opponents at times. And often, that member never return alive, if at all.

"And, the greatest weapon that a ninja can have isn't the number of jutsus at their disposal, or even a powerful sword." Yuri looked from one genin to the other. "It is the power to believe."

Yuri then sighed. "Alright, now onto more important matters," she stated. "As you three are no doubt aware, the Third Great Shinobi War had just ended, and Konoha is currently low on ninja forces." The three genins nodded. "As a result, every genin team that passed will be pushed pretty hard on training as well. I'll be training all three of you in various aspects of ninja combat, depending on what your strengths lies in, as I don't believe in over specialisation." She glanced at Kisuke. "Kisuke, from what I can tell, you're pretty proficient in genjutsu, if you can already dispel a triple layered genjutsu easily. ("She was watching?" Iruka questioned, blinking owlishly). Thus, I'll be pushing your training in genjutsu, and also in kenjutsu and taijutsu, since as a Hyuuga, you're bound to be skilled in hand-to-hand combat. But I don't want you to stick to the Jyuuken alone. I want you to form your own style."

Kisuke nodded slowly.

"Next issue: medic-nins." Yuri stated. "The Hokage has implemented a new training regime in the Academy and in the genin teams. Thus, one member of each genin team is to be the team's medic, and will be sent for medic training at the medic-nin Academy, to be trained by the Slug Sannin, Tsunade-sama, every alternate week." She glanced at Iruka. "Iruka, you seem to have some knowledge on basic first aid, seeing as how you were the one to treat Tsuki ("How did she know?" Kisuke wondered, only to be ignored), and thus, you'll be the medic-nin for team five."

Iruka didn't look very surprised, and seems happy in a way as well.

"And lastly, Itachi…" Itachi stiffened as Yuri studied him. "Honestly, I'm not really sure what to teach you, as you basically seems like an all-rounder." She admitted. "I guess my best bet is to train you in all aspects of ninja combat, and to see where you go from there." Itachi nodded slowly, happy at the thought of more training. "Alright, the three of you. Follow me."

Yuri picked up the injured wolf in her arms, whilst Kisuke piggybacked Itachi, as the three genins followed their sensei to training ground seven, and towards the monument stone. The redhead then turned to face her team once more.

"On this monument stone are engraved the names of the heroes of the village," she told them. "Names of people who have died for the village and Fire Country." The faces of all genins fell at this. "Remember this: even shinobis are not immortal. The fine line drawn between a ninja and a civilian is only one thing: killing. We are the protectors of Fire Country as well as Konoha. We kill to protect. Kill because you have to, not because you _want _to. Revenge is not becoming of a shinobi. Remember! You are a shinobi, not a murderer. For every person that you kill in the future, someone else will be grieving for that person that you kill. Their family… Their friends…"

Yuri studied the face of each genin. "A friend used to say this to me and my friends once, 'Those who breaks the rules are trash, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than that'. Thus why the current Hokage created the Ninja Charter. 'Believe in your comrades and help them'. Protect your teammates. Protect your comrades. Protect your family. Protect your friends. From the first day that you become a team, your team becomes your family. You live together, fight together, and woe betide, but there will probably come a day when you'll die together." She said solemnly. "Trust in your teammates. They're the very people whom you'll trust to guard your back, and to treat your wounds when you're injured."

The three genins exchanged looks before nodding and turned back towards their teacher.

"Alright, I guess that's it then," said Yuri. "Now that team five officially begins, we'll meet at nine every morning in front of the Hokage Tower. Dismissed!"

* * *

_A/N: Another super long chapter! I'll appreciate some ideas for the next chapter, as I'm clean out! Anyway, I had just created an anime blog on Tumblr: midnightzgale. tumblr. com_

_Just remove the spaces, and if anyone has a Tumblr account, do drop off some comments and take a look. Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter, and please read and review!_


	11. Voyage of Flame

All right, so I've gotten a few complaints about Naruto's new name. Some were saying that her name doesn't suit her. Another is saying that it doesn't sound Japanese. And someone, I can't remember who, is saying that the name doesn't fit her personality. So, I've changed her name to 'Yuri' for this.

Anyway, this chapter and maybe even a few ones after that will mostly be focused on Yuri and her genin team.

**Notes: **Yuri and co. are fifteen years old. Kyuubi isn't sealed in Yuri. Yuri had red hair. Yuri is posing as Minato's sister.

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing. No Kyuubi sealed in Yuri.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Voyage of Flame**

Red tangled with black as their locks were spread over the carpet, with their tongues being locked in an eternal dance.

Namikaze Yuri gasped, her eyes glazed over as she felt a pair of warm lips at her neck, even as cool air hit her bare skin. Genma worked at the pieces of clothing separating them from each other when there was a loud tapping at the window.

Both jounins glanced towards the window where a white messenger bird was seated, staring at them with its beady black eyes, waiting for them patiently, a message scroll tied to its leg. Yuri sighed before she made herself decent, walking towards the window and letting the bird in.

The redhead frowned as she took the message and read it as the bird flew off. She then turned towards Genma. "I have to see the Hokage immediately. Seems rather urgent."

Genma nodded, sighing with disappointment, also pulling on his own clothes, making himself decent. "Okay. I'll be with the guys at Yakiniku Q."

* * *

Yuri tried to delay her journey towards the popular barbeque restaurant that had been a regular haunt for the ninjas in the village, her talk with her 'brother' about an hour ago going over and over again in her head. Yet she knew that she couldn't delay the inevitable.

Yuri sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ease her headache. Her meeting with the Hokage didn't really go the way that she had expected.

"_A B-rank assassination mission?" Yuri frowned as she read over the mission details in the scroll and glanced at her worried looking brother. "And what's the problem? If it's a mere B-rank, I can do it with no problem. I've tackled tougher missions than this."_

_Minato sighed as he looked at her seriously, and Yuri felt alarm bells going off in her head immediately. "It's not the mission that is the problem, Yuri," he said seriously. "It is __**who**__ is going to be performing the actual assassination that is the problem."_

_Yuri frowned, suspecting what Minato is implying. "What do you mean?" she asked._

"_The mission this time is to take out five Iwa-nins that had been spotted at the Fire border," said Minato. "In accordance to the terms of surrender at the end of the Third Great Shinobi War, no Iwa-nin is allowed to cross the borders of Fire, or even so much as step foot into Fire Country. The penalty for that is death, no questions asked. I'm sure that you know that."_

_Yuri nodded. _

_Every single ninja ranked chuunin and above knew about the terms of surrender when the war had ended. During the first days after the end of the war, many of their border patrols had taken out quite a number of vengeful Iwa-nins who were there seeking revenge. And Iwa can't really do anything about it either, seeing as how it's their own fault in the first place. They have been lucky at that time that Minato had been too busy rebuilding Konoha and their forces, along with all their debt problems because of the war to even bother with them._

"_I've gone on quite a few of those missions myself. And so did Deidara, Genma and Raidou." Yuri replied._

_Minato managed a weak smile, hating what he had to tell his 'sister' next. "It kills me that I have to order this. But I want the assassinations this time to be performed by your genin team."_

_It was like lightning had just struck the office._

_There was deadly silence for several moments before Yuri spoke once more, her voice cold and dangerous. For a moment, even Minato feared for his own life, and he understood now why Iwa and Kumo have both feared Yuri so much during the war, despite her young age, and had put her as a S-class threat, to flee on sight._

"_Explain," said Yuri coldly._

_Minato sighed and nodded. "It had been nearly four years since the end of the war, and we have been rebuilding all this while," he explained, and Yuri nodded. "So far, we haven't been sending any of our genin teams to the public chuunin exams, as we are still recovering. And you probably aren't aware of this, but it has been hurting our reputation with potential clients. Thus, with some discussion, we've decided to send two genin teams that are even __**remotely**__ ready for the next chuunin exams."_

"_But the next chuunin exams are being hosted by Kiri, right?" Yuri frowned. "And that is taking place at least nine months from now. And are they even in any condition to be hosting the chuunin exams? Last that I'd checked, they're still in the middle of the civil war."_

_Minato sighed and nodded. "I know a little about their chuunin exams. And let me put it this way, if the genins that we're sending aren't ready to spill a little blood during the exams, they won't make it out of this alive." He met Yuri's eyes. "And of now, only two teams are ready to tackle the exams – your team and Hayate's team. I don't like ordering this, Yuri, but the genins __**must**__ learn before it's too late."_

_Yuri understood everything immediately. "You want them to get their first kills over with so that we can prepare them for the chuunin exams, and also for them to get a taste of what true ninja life is," she said, and Minato nodded. She sighed. "I was wondering when it would come to this. Eight and ten years old respectively, and killing someone for the first time. Even I was at least twelve when I'd killed someone for the first time."_

_Minato sighed. "I'm allowing you to bring Genma with you on this mission, since your genin team is an all-boy genin team, and having a male senior ninja on this mission might be helpful. But you're only allowed to do the cleanup. Both of you. The actual assassination must be done by the genins."_

Yuri sighed again before she entered the barbeque restaurant, making a beeline straight to the usual window booth that she and her old teammates usually occupied. True enough, she found them all sitting in their seats, watching Raidou flip the pieces of meat over.

"Hey Raidou! It's been tender for long enough!" Deidara complained. "I'm hungry!"

"Wait a while longer." Raidou stated with a grin. "It'll taste better if cooked longer."

Genma rolled his eyes at his teammates' antics before he spotted Yuri, and grinned. "Yuri! How goes the meeting with the Hokage?" he asked, and Deidara and Raidou exchanged mischievous grins.

Yuri sighed and slipped into her seat next to Genma. "I need to talk to you guys," she said seriously.

"What?" Raidou asked with a quizzed brow as he served the pieces of meat. "You looked as if your dog had died."

Yuri said nothing to that, as she looked from face to face, before she sighed. She then turned to look at Genma who is eyeing her with concern. _"We_ have a mission," she said, gesturing towards herself and Genma. "A B-rank assassination mission to assassinate some Iwa-nins discovered in Fire Country. And…" She chewed on her bottom lip. "I am to bring my genin team along."

Raidou nodded slowly, still not getting it. "Okay…" he trailed off. "And what's the problem here then?"

Only Deidara seemed to understand the situation here, as he paled, and looked straight at Yuri, forgetting about his hunger and the food on his plate. "Yuri…" His voice was shaky, as he looked straight into the redhead's eyes. "Itachi, Kisuke and Iruka… They haven't had their first kills yet, have they?"

Yuri closed her eyes momentarily, leaning back into her seat. "No."

Genma sighed, running his fingers through his hair beneath his bandanna. "I was wondering when it would come to this," he whispered. "Eight and ten years old respectively, and killing someone for the first time."

"Iruka and Kisuke would both be all right, I think," said Raidou slowly. "I mean, they grew up during the war, and saw first hand the horrors of it. Not to mention that they were much older than Itachi, and thus, had more psychology training in the Academy than he does. And we weren't that much older than them when we had to take our first kill. But Itachi…" He trailed off.

Yuri nodded wearily. "I'm more worried about him," she admitted. "The pressure on him by his family set aside, he is the youngest of my entire team. I had been trying to take their ninja careers slow, especially since I _know_ that they've seen the after effects and horrors of the war. But eight years old, still a child and barely an adult, and killing someone for the first time…" She sighed. "The heavens must weep for the loss of the innocence."

Genma sighed, suddenly not feeling like eating. "So what's the mission plan?" he asked.

"The Iwa-nins discovered in Fire Country are injured," said Yuri. "Thus, they've set up camp. Our mission is to assassinate them, obviously. But we're only allowed to be with them." She looked at Genma. "My orders from the Hokage are very clear on that. We are only to do the clean up. The actual assassination must be done by the genins."

Raidou sighed. "Great."

Genma sighed a long deep sigh. "I'm packing my psychology kit," he muttered. "I got a feeling that we're going to need it."

**XXXXXX**

The smell of burning flesh could be smelt as the flames licked at the broken bodies of the five Iwa-nins, engulfing it in flames, and burning it slowly down to their bones. Namikaze Yuri sighed as she tossed the last log onto the large bonfire and turned to return to the base camp.

Yuri always had a soft spot for children, particularly the three genins on her team, as one of them had been a chibi version of the first person to ever care for her as a child, with another being a younger version of her adoptive older brother. And thus, she didn't like what she had to force them to do on this mission.

The three genins went very pale and looked as if they were about to be sick when Yuri had broken the news to them about their latest mission. Iruka had gone very green when Yuri had mentioned killing, and his hands started to shake.

As the team's medic, he is mostly there for healing purposes, and is also more of a defensive and traps' specialist. Yuri had found it easy to train him in traps and demolition, as that had been her speciality as well. Thus, he had never found it easy to deal with death.

But the orders from Minato, the Yondaime Hokage is very clear.

The genins are to do the actual assassination. The jounins could only do the cleanup, and to comfort the genins if need be afterwards. And they are bound to be needed, especially since a ninja's first kill is always the hardest and most traumatising.

Preparing them for the chuunin exams in Kiri set aside, Yuri knew that this is also kind of like their trial run before the Hokage decides if they could take on the tougher missions.

The five Iwa-nins that they were sent after weren't very tough; maybe at low chuunin level at best, and as such, the genins didn't find it very difficult to disable them. It is the assassination bit that is difficult for them.

Iruka had actually froze when his kunai had found its way into the right eye of his opponent, killing him instantly, and blood had splattered onto him. He would have paid for this one moment of hesitation with his life had Kisuke not been next to him.

Kisuke and Itachi, both being born in important ninja clans have had training from a young age to deal with the loss of life as well as death. But even so, training and doing it are different matters entirely.

Thus, only Genma was present at the base camp where he is busy setting up the campfire and tents, ready to take a few hours of rest before heading back to Konoha. Heaven knows, it is probably better for the genins if they deal with their emotional turmoil out here than back in Konoha. Especially for Itachi.

All the jounins in their little circle had heard from Obito on numerous occasions just what the Uchiha clan is like, and Yuri had a faint suspicion just why Itachi never liked to go home immediately every single time after team training.

The three genins have retreated to the riverbank to clean themselves up, washing off the blood on their clothes and weapons. Following thus, Iruka and Kisuke have then retreated to the woods where they have remained for at least an hour. Both jounins knew that they haven't moved from their positions, and Genma was waiting for them both to calm down before he approached them. Itachi on the other hand, he had remained at the riverbank for nearly two hours, scrubbing hard at his clothes and skin as if still seeing the blood there on his hands.

Genma nodded to Yuri as she returned, getting up from his position by the fire and retreating into the trees to check on the two older genins.

Yuri glanced at Itachi who was sitting before the fire, staring blankly at his hands which were slightly red with all the scrubbing that he had done earlier, his hair slightly damp as he had practically went into the water to wash himself off. It was like Itachi could still see the blood on his hands.

Yuri had faith that Genma could coax Iruka and Kisuke out of their slumps. The brunette young man might be lazy at times, reminding the redhead of a certain lazy Nara that she once knew, but he had a high IQ of over 180, and like her, knew just what to say and what to do in certain situations.

Besides, like all squad captains during the time of the war, like her, Genma had been trained in psychology, and is possibly better equipped than her in dealing with two possibly traumatised boys who is trying to handle their first kills.

Itachi is the difficult one of the three, but seeing as how he hadn't taken all that much to Genma, Yuri didn't have much of a choice but deal with him herself. The Uchiha heir rarely shows his emotions as it is, and absolutely loathes showing any sign of weaknesses. Yuri had more than enough experience in dealing with Uchihas, though majority of them were shouting matches, and she knew their weak points, and just what to say to them.

Yuri sighed as she approached her youngest student who had his arms tightening around himself, as if still seeing the deaths of the Iwa-nins at his hands. The redhead then tapped him on his shoulder. The Uchiha jerked as if he had just been shot, and spun around with frightened eyes only to relax when he saw that it is just his teacher.

Yuri frowned at that. Itachi is the sensor of her genin team, surprisingly even surpassing Kisuke in the sensor area. And it is a very subtle action, but he was also trembling. And it was then that Yuri actually saw the eight-year-old that he really is instead of the prodigy that everyone in the village sees.

Yuri sighed before sitting down beside him. "Itachi, do you want something to eat?"

Itachi shook his head and turned his gaze back to the fire burning merrily before him, the orange glare of the fire being reflected in his eyes. Yuri sighed. She hated seeing children grow up this fast, but this is the life of a shinobi. That is why she had tried to take their ninja careers slow, having seen what had happened to those ninjas who were forced to grow up fast during the war.

Yuri sighed, and decided to just go straight to the point. There is no point in beating around the bush with Itachi.

"Itachi, are you alright?"

Itachi looked at his sensei before looking back towards the fire and shrugged. Yuri sighed inwardly. She had been around Itachi long enough and knew what his gestures and silent shrugs and grunts meant.

"No, you are _not _alright," said Yuri forcefully, and Itachi turned towards her with surprised eyes. Rarely had Yuri spoken to her students or anyone for that matter with that tone of voice. And when she actually uses that tone, everyone actually _listens._ "You're falling apart, Itachi. You have to talk about it. The first kill for a ninja is always difficult, no matter how well prepared you are."

Yuri sighed. "I'm your teacher, and I have a responsibility to ensure the well-being of my students, no matter your rank. You're a ninja, Itachi. But you're also human. And all humans have their limits." Yuri placed one hand on her student's shoulder. "Talk to me. Anything that is on your mind."

"I'm a ninja," muttered Itachi, not looking at Yuri or at anywhere else, but at his feet, suddenly finding his sandals very interesting. "And it's in the shinobi rule book: a ninja must never show emotion."

Yuri sighed before tilting Itachi's chin up to look at her in the eye. "Uchiha Itachi, you are going to listen to whatever that I'm going to say, whether you like it or not," she said firmly. "You are a ninja. But you are also a child. No ninja can throw away their emotions completely without being nothing more than a tool. Do you _want _to be someone like that? Who can kill even a child without feeling anything as long as it is an order?"

Itachi shook his head, his eyes wide.

"And do you think any less of Kisuke and Iruka just because of their reactions to this mission?" Itachi shook his head. Yuri sighed. "You are my student, Itachi. I know that you are talented and a prodigy, having achieved your current level and strength with extreme hard work. You are the best among my three students, but I am also your teacher. I don't want you to become nothing more than a mindless killing machine like some of the shinobis from Mist." She sighed. "You have to talk about it."

Itachi was silent for a few moments, staring at his hands. "After I've…killed that man, I suddenly had the most absurd thought," he said at last. "I wondered if he has a family. And I wonder if his friends will mourn his death. And then I wondered to myself if he has any children. And if he has any, that his children will grow up not knowing their father." He sounded as if he was about to cry. "And then…it made me hate myself! I…killed him!"

Yuri closed her eyes. This was bringing up some bad memories for her…

_I…killed him…_

"It wasn't your fault," said Yuri gently. "It was a mission. You were just doing your job like every single shinobi out there."

"But—"

Itachi was surprised when Yuri took him into her arms. The only person who had ever hugged him like this is his mother, and she had stopped doing it when he had graduated from the Academy. "Let it all out, Itachi," said Yuri quietly. "Let everything out."

Itachi bit back a choke in his throat, clutching at his sensei's jounin vest, burying his face into her shirt. But the lump in his throat just wouldn't go away.

And for the first time ever since he had passed the toddler stage, Uchiha Itachi bawled his eyes out.

* * *

Yuri had sent all three of her genins straight to the hospital upon their return, ready for a full physical then a full psychological evaluation by Yamanaka Inoichi. Genma had offered to stay with the genins whilst she files a report with the Hokage, and she had accepted the offer.

What she didn't expect however, was Namikaze Minato frowning so deeply to himself when she had entered and had given her report.

Yuri raised a brow at Minato's stranger than usual behaviour, but she said nothing, and continued giving her report, despite a written one already written out whilst she was waiting for her genins' admittance into the hospital.

"…they handled it better than I'd expected, though I think it was because Genma was there," said Yuri with a small smile. The brunette may not look it, but he is really good with children and psychology. He had proven it more than once during the war. "He took care of Iruka and Kisuke. They were back to their usual selves, though only much more subdued and worn out when we'd returned to the village. Itachi though…" She trailed off, looking at her 'brother'. "Hey, is there something going on within the Uchiha clan that I'm not aware of?" She bore her azure eyes deep into Minato's guilty looking ones, with the look that nearly always forced her comrades or enemies to start spilling the beans.

"W-What makes you say that?" Minato mumbled. Did anyone tell you that Namikaze Minato is a bad liar when it comes to his wife or daughter (the older one)?

Yuri narrowed her eyes. "Do you take me for a fool?" she hissed. "Even _I_ can tell that something is wrong, despite the fact that I had been out of the village for missions of late. The tension surrounding the Uchiha clan for one, particularly the ninjas of that clan. And Itachi hasn't been himself lately. Even Kisuke and Iruka have noticed it, and they have voiced their concerns to me. I just never pushed Itachi for answers, as I know that I wouldn't get one anyway. But he is my student, and if there are problems for him at home, then I got a right to know!"

Minato sighed. "There's been talk that the Uchiha clan might be staging a rebellion of some sort." Minato told her solemnly.

Yuri narrowed her eyes. She had harboured some hope in the beginning that she might be able to stop the Uchiha massacre, but with her repeated conflicts with the Uchiha clan, especially the clan head, her hope had gone flying out of the window. Besides, if memory serves her right, and her past memories had been growing rather fuzzy of late, the Uchiha massacre should be taking place at least five years from now. Why are they moving this quickly?

"Are you certain?" Yuri asked quietly.

Minato sighed. "Only suspicions. And our spies have been bringing us some news," he said gravely. "And from what I know, Itachi has been getting into frequent conflicts with his father because of his status as your student." He looked at Yuri gravely. "You and Fugaku have both never really seen eye-to-eye right from the start. And Obito's situation back then during the war only made things worse. You probably have heard of this, but when Fugaku heard that you are his son's jounin instructor, he actually marched into my office to demand a change of teams for Itachi."

Yuri snorted. "Pretty daring of him," she remarked sarcastically.

Minato grinned at his 'sister's' wit. "I told him no, and to get the hell out of my office," he said. "It also helps that Kakashi had been in here giving a mission report at that time. But lately, it seems like the Uchiha clan has been growing dissatisfied with their position in the village, and is demanding more. Just the other day, Fugaku tried to push forward the decree to have all civilian and ninja military matters to fall under the Uchiha Military Police's jurisdiction, and that only they could approve it whether or not a person goes to jail."

Yuri frowned. "Didn't they try to push forward that same decree a couple of years back?" she growled, and Minato sighed and nodded. She sighed, rubbing her temples. "No matter when it is, the council is still a pain in the ass, despite the extreme changes that you've made to them." She grumbled.

Minato sighed. "And I'll be borrowing two of your jounin teammates for awhile," he said wearily. "Inoichi wants their help in the T&I Department for awhile, as he's kind of shorthanded at the moment."

Yuri raised a brow. "For?" she enquired.

Minato said nothing for several moments. "You are aware of the Kumo diplomats paying Konoha a visit to sign a treaty, right?" he asked, and Yuri nodded. "They came while you and Genma both were away on that mission with your genin team."

"Let me guess, it didn't go well." Yuri interrupted. Something deep in her memory, something to do with Kumo, was pricking at the back of her mind. She wonders for a moment just what Kumo had to do with the Hyuuga.

Minato groaned to himself. "Worse than that, I'm afraid," he admitted. "The Kumo ambassador sent here tried to kidnap Hiashi's daughter."

Of all the things that Yuri was expecting, this definitely wasn't it.

"E-Excuse me?" she squeaked.

Minato sighed. "He tried to kidnap Hiashi's daughter in the middle of the night. Hiashi isn't pleased. And from what I heard from him when he nearly tore down my door hours earlier, Hizashi's four-year-old son, Neji, got severely injured trying to defend Hinata. Rin is now treating him, so he should be all right."

"And the kidnapper?" Yuri frowned.

"He got the misfortune to end up running into Deidara and Raidou last night after attempting to kidnap Hinata." Minato grinned. "Between the two of them, they beat him to a nice pulp even before Hiashi and Hizashi turned up. Thus why Inoichi had enlisted their help to interrogate the Kumo ambassador. And the Raikage got the guts to demand reparation for the broken treaty." He snorted. "He's lucky that I hadn't declared war on his village." He sighed. "Anyway, this is a political nightmare! I'm still settling this matter. And with Kushina away at Suna, helping the new Kazekage with the Ichibi's seal…" Minato groaned. "It's another one of those days." He muttered miserably.

Yuri chuckled to herself. "Well, you were the one who wanted the job. By the way, Kakashi asked for my help to replace one of his injured ANBU members for an urgent mission next week," she informed Minato who nodded. "I'm giving my team a week to recuperate. And I guess they'll be fine handling a simple C-rank delivery mission on their own. Time for them to handle some leadership roles on their own anyway." She smiled wryly. "I couldn't always be there to bail them out, and they're stronger than most genins. They should be fine handling a C-rank on their own. So if you can give them one, it'll be appreciated."

Minato nodded. "Sure. We're going to have quite a few coming our way from the River Country and the Wave Country. I can just give them one of those. Get some rest, Yuri."

**XXXXXX**

The Hyuuga affair had caused quite a fuss in Konoha, and the Hokage had quite a shouting match with the Raikage. It is only until Minato had threatened to wipe out Kumo's already weak military might because of the war that the Raikage had shut up, and had to swallow his pride to apologise. Kumo ended up surrendering five of their best jutsu scrolls to Konoha as repayment.

As for Yuri's team, Hyuuga Kisuke who is already in a lousy and foul mood because of his first mission kill returned home only to have his already foul mood growing worse when he found out what had happened to his baby brother and his cousin. He had spent the entire week nursing his baby brother whilst cursing words not meant for children's ears until his father had kicked him out of the room, and took over caring for his younger son.

Itachi's mood had positively grown worse ever since his mission, and Yuri had suspected that the Uchiha clan had something to do with it. Hence, he practically jumped at the chance to escape the village for a few days when Yuri told them about a delivery mission to Wave Country, and to also assist them in their rebuilding – some parts of Wave was destroyed during the war by enemy troops.

One week later, Yuri was almost dragged to the Hokage's office by two harried gate guards the moment that she had returned to Konoha with Kakashi's ANBU team. The guards had told Yuri that the irritated Hokage wanted Yuri to be brought to his office _immediately _the moment that she had returned, and had been checking in every few hours to check if she had returned.

Hence the relief of the guards.

And for the second time in a week, Yuri was greeted with the scowling face of the Hokage.

"What is it this time?" Yuri asked wearily. "And couldn't it have waited until I had gotten a chance to freshen myself up?"

"This can't wait, I'm afraid," said Minato solemnly. "Your genin team reported back three hours ago from their delivery mission to Wave Country."

"And?" Yuri raised an eyebrow. That tone that Minato had used doesn't bode good news…

Minato sighed. "It's bad news, Yuri," he said gravely. "I need you to go on a immediate rescue mission. The rescue target is one of your students. Itachi was kidnapped by foreign nins."

There was silence for several moments.

"WHAAAAAAAT?"

* * *

_A/N: As always, sorry for the late update! Also, I've got a piece of news for you guys. I'm not sure if you knew about my story blog on LiveJournal which link you can find on my profile where I had been hosting original stories, and some of my FanFiction stories for download. But as I can't seem to put a shoutbox or comment box on there, I've decided to create a Facebook group for that, and also a chance for me to get more in touch with my readers. _

_The group's name is __**Expressive Moments,**__ and if any of you have a Facebook account (which I'm pretty sure ALL of you do), then please join the group. I would like to hear any views or comments, and even suggestions that you can give._

_I've also been really getting into playing the new Hakuoki PSP game that had came out recently, and it had given me an idea for a new story. It's an idea that had been taking place in my mind for some time now, but the game had given me more ideas to add to the story._

_Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter, and please read and review!_

_**Upcoming Stories:**_

_One Last Hope (Naruto)_

_The war had ended with only one survivor from the elemental nations. Five years later, Namikaze Yuri had now arrived in Kyoto, prepared to do anything in order to get back the recipe of the Ochimizu that had been stolen from Konoha, and to also do anything to exact her revenge against the Imperial Army – the ones that had destroyed her home. Naruto/Hakuoki crossover. Saitou/FemNaru_


	12. Wrath of a Teacher

**Notes: **Yuri and co. are fifteen years old. Kyuubi isn't sealed in Yuri. Yuri had red hair. Yuri is posing as Minato's sister.

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing. No Kyuubi sealed in Yuri.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Wrath of a Teacher**

Namikaze Minato would have rather fought the Tsuchikage, or even about ten full squads of Iwa-nins than face his 'sister' when she had _that _look on her face.

Namikaze Yuri looked as if she was about to breathe fire like an angry dragon as she slammed both her hands down onto his desk, nearly toppling the stack of paperwork to the ground.

Minato hadn't seen Yuri this angry in a long time now. The last time was when Obito had his arm cut off during that mission during the war, and Fugaku had wanted Obito's eyes put out. Unfortunately, Yuri happened to be passing by then, and push comes to shove, and the Uchiha clan head had then ended up having a shouting match with her in the middle of the hospital.

Yuri's left eye twitched dangerously – a sign that all her teammates and friends knew as a bad sign. "Run that by me again?" she enquired politely, but the slight twitch in her left eyebrow told Minato that she is more than pissed. Like his wife, Yuri had a soft spot for children, especially the genins in her team.

Minato gulped. "Erm… Itachi was kidnapped by foreign nins?" he offered weakly.

"And _how _in the nine blazes of Hell did _that _happen?"

Was it just Minato, or did the temperature of the room just fell several degrees? And the weirdest thing of all here is that it is currently summer…

Yuri's dark blue eyes were like burning pieces of ice as they glared daggers and knives, and anything that is sharp and pointy at Minato.

Minato sighed. "I got the gist of the situation from Kisuke before he passed out," he explained, and Yuri's eyes widened.

Did something happen to her other two genins as well? Oh, why didn't she go with them on their mission? Then none of this would have happened! She swore to herself that she is going to upend Hell and back if something had happened to Itachi!

"It was a normal C-rank delivery mission that they have, and they completed it with no problem." Minato explained gravely. "But they ran into trouble on their way back home. From what I can understand, they ran into a pair of unknown foreign nins. Kisuke and Iruka took on one of them, whilst Itachi took on the other. But Itachi was defeated and was taken away by them. Kisuke and Iruka tried to go after them, but they were…beaten rather soundly. They managed to make it to Konoha's gates, and Kisuke managed to stay awake long enough to tell me the situation before passing out. And _this—" _Minato held up a strangely shaped kunai, "—was used by the enemy."

He pushed it across his desk towards Yuri who picked up the kunai with a frown. The kunai is shaped a little differently from the usual kunais that the ninjas of the elemental countries used – with the tip of the kunai being a forked edge, and it is even a little heavier than the usual kunais. Yuri rapped the flat edge of the kunai with her knuckles gently, and the sound given out was different from the sound that the usual kunais made.

"Iron…" she muttered. She knew immediately which nation those foreign nins were from. There is only one nation that uses kunais like this now. "I've seen kunais like this only once – during the Third Great Shinobi War." Yuri stated darkly, pushing the kunai back towards Minato. "They were used by the top elite ANBU teams of Kumo, and even by chuunins guarding Kumo's borders and gates. Those kunais are made of pure iron – easier to conduct electricity. Those two nins that the three boys ran into are from Kumo!"

"Now hold on, Yuri, you can't be sure if the Raikage _did _commission it." Minato interrupted, holding up a hand to stop his sister. "And even if he did, we have no proof that he _did _send those two. Though…" He trailed off, frowning. "So soon after the Hyuuga affair?" he muttered. "Sounds like Kumo is desperate for some bloodline."

Yuri sighed. "I'm getting my old team back together," she said tiredly. "Is Inoichi-san done with Deidara and Raidou's help in the T&I department?" Minato nodded. "Good. I need their help in this."

Like all jounin-level ninjas who have fought during the war, Yuri knew that she only had six hours at best to find her student before he is brought straight into the bellies of their enemies. Once he's in enemy territory, only God knows what will happen to him then.

Minato sighed. "Yuri, you have to be subtle and quick about this," he said gravely. "There is a reason why I'd actually waited for you to return instead of assigning this mission to other available ninjas. If the Uchiha clan finds out about this, there's no telling what they'll do."

Yuri frowned. She doesn't like the undertone in Minato's voice. "You don't think that they're behind this, are you?" she asked. "Itachi's the clan heir after all."

"I don't know," said Minato with a sigh. "Yuri, you know the Uchiha clan, and you know just how far that they will go in order to achieve their means." Yuri nodded slowly before turning to leave the office. Minato called out to her once more before she could open the door. "Yuri, this is Search and Destroy." He said, no longer the loving brother, father and husband that Kushina, Yuri and Takara knew. He is the Fire Shadow, responsible for the lives and safety of his people and village. Minato's eyes glinted with silent rage. "You understand, right?"

_Search and Destroy. _It's a tactical term used back when Minato was a Commander during the war. Search and Destroy meant to locate their target. And once they did so, they are to kill them on sight.

"Yeah." Yuri nodded, her voice as cold and hard as steel. "No one touches my student and gets away with it."

* * *

Yuri found Raidou first of all.

The once burly teen, and now strapping young man was at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand, laughing and talking with Haku. Now that she thinks about it, the two have been spending an awful lot of time together with each other.

"Sorry!" Both jounins were startled as Yuri interrupted, slightly out of breath. The redhead had a hand on Raidou's shoulder. "Haku, I have to steal Raidou away for a bit. There's an urgent mission that I need him for."

* * *

Deidara and Genma were easy to find, as they were both at their shared apartment.

In fact, Deidara was in the corridor, making some clay bombs or something that works like an explosive tag, but only reacts to Deidara's chakra.

Genma had lost his temper after having came home one day, tired out after a mission, only to see the house in a mess for the fifth time in a row from Deidara's 'art senses', and had told the blonde to make his art piece _outside _the house.

Genma was actually lounging in the sitting room with a manga when Raidou and Yuri have announced their presences, but he walked to his door when he heard his former teammates' voices asking for him.

"What's up?" Genma asked curiously.

"_We _have a mission," said Yuri seriously, gesturing towards themselves. "All four of us. One of my genins was kidnapped outside Konoha walls." She told them, and the eyes of the three males went wide. "We're going to get him back."

**XXXXXX**

"So what's the plan?" Genma asked with a frown the moment all four of them were gathered at Konoha's gates. "Head to Wave and find the tracks from there?"

Yuri had explained the mission to them whilst travelling towards Konoha's gates, and to say that she's pissed is an understatement. Genma is surprised that she hadn't started breathing fire yet.

"No," said Yuri with a shake of her head. "I've sent out about six of my wolves earlier to sniff out a scent. With any luck, they should have found one by now."

"Search and Destroy, huh?" Raidou mused to himself. "It's been awhile since we got a mission like that. Last time was back during the war."

Deidara sighed. "Well, we should—"

"_Sensei!"_

Blinking in confusion, all four jounins turned only to see a rather pale-faced Hyuuga Kisuke standing behind them, dressed in what seemed to be hospital scrubs, with just a jacket thrown over it. He had bandages around his forehead, with his left wrist bound with bandages as well. A huffing and puffing Umino Iruka was beside him. Though he at least looked better than his best friend, he still looked awful, as he had bandages around his forehead, and a strip of bandage across his nose, with it already starting to be a little stained with fresh blood.

Yuri blinked in surprise at seeing her genins out of the hospital. Though they might have snuck out of the hospital themselves…

"Kisuke? Iruka? What are you two doing out of the hospital? I was told that you wouldn't be released for about another week at least!" Yuri said harshly, though those who knew her – and her old jounin team definitely did, could detect a hint of concern and worry in her voice when she saw the states of the two genins.

The two genins looked as if they have just been through Hell and back, or had just gone through World War Three just armed with a dagger, with a bulls-eye target on their backs.

"We heard that you've just returned to the village!" Kisuke spluttered, coughing as he tried to get his breath back. It is apparent that he had sprinted all the way to the front gates from the hospital, and Iruka had apparently accompanied him. "Are you going to find Itachi?"

Yuri nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Hokage-sama told me what had happened. I'm going to find your teammate."

"Sensei! Let us go with you!"

"_Huh?"_

Deidara was sure that he wasn't the only one with that reaction.

Genma sighed. "No," he said firmly. "This is an S-rank mission." Search and Destroy missions are nearly always ranked at S-rank, mostly because of the high sensitivity of it. So much so that those missions are usually only handled by the Hokage's most trusted jounins and ANBUs. "Genins have no place to be on an S-rank mission. And besides, both of you are too injured. You'll only drag us down."

"Sensei!" Kisuke turned pleading eyes towards his teacher.

Yuri sighed. She is starting to think that Haku is right when she had complained once that why is it that every single person who ever had contact with her turns out to be as stubborn and obstinate as she does?

"Genma is right, Kisuke, and you know it." Yuri said firmly. "You both will be of no help to me injured."

"But—"

"I promise you both; I _will _get Itachi back," said Yuri seriously, looking the two distraught genins straight in the eye. "Wait here for our return."

There was a low mournful wolf's howl echoing around the countryside just then, and Yuri turned her head sharply towards the direction where the howl had came from. Pretty soon, a chorus of other different wolves' howls started echoing.

Having been a summoner of the wolves for several years had also taught Yuri some of their ways, and some of their Wolf Tongue. She understood what those howls had meant immediately.

"They've found a trail." Yuri said quickly, glancing at her teammates who nodded solemnly, all of them on mission mode. "Let's split!"

All four jounins were gone within a split second.

**XXXXXX**

A beautiful smokey-grey wolf with golden eyes was waiting for them at a spot at least five miles away from Wave. Like with nearly all of Yuri's summons, this particular wolf had a red bandanna tied around it's neck with a spiral symbol on it.

The wolf had then led them across land for at least half-an-hour before emerging into the woods where they found a makeshift campsite, with the smouldering ashes of a campfire. There were even footprints and discarded fish bones, and the signs of someone having been held captive were also visible.

"There's been some scuffle here. Some sort of fight." Raidou remarked, noting the signs of a fire jutsu.

Yuri sighed. "Seems to be. Genma?" she called out to her boyfriend who is better than any of them at reading tracks and signs.

"I'm on it." Genma responded before kneeling with one knee to the ground and examining the ground. Deidara shone a flashlight that he had in his pack just so that Genma could see clearly in the dark. It was near dusk when they'd first set out from Konoha, and by now, it is nightfall.

Yuri sighed, surveying her surroundings, worried about her student. The Uchiha Itachi of now isn't the Uchiha Itachi that she had known in the past. The current Itachi is still a shy genin, though a genius, with none of the skills that he had possessed when he had became an ANBU captain.

"There are two targets." Genma remarked, noting the indents of two adult humans sitting on makeshift seats that are really just logs. "Seems to be around their mid-twenties. Both males. Heavily built. Itachi…" He trailed off, glancing around, even as Deidara used his flashlight to follow his line of sight. "…was bound here." He approached a spot before a pine tree. All four jounins could see a slight indent of what seems to be a small person lying there.

"He was probably unconscious or something, and was tied up." Deidara remarked. "From what I know of that kid, he doesn't seem to be the type to just _not _fight back when kidnapped."

"Yeah. Probably." Yuri replied absently. Her wolf sniffed by her foot and gave a low whine.

"And from the looks of things, Itachi probably woke up halfway when they were resting." Raidou remarked. Deidara, Yuri and Raidou were not that far behind Genma when it comes to reading tracks and signs. It comes as experience during the war. "He probably had a kunai or something hidden in his sleeve, managing to cut the ropes that bound him." He poked at the pile of cut ropes at the foot of the tree with his toe.

"_And _there are signs of a fire jutsu here, along with a fight." Deidara remarked, glancing around the makeshift campsite. "He probably tried fighting his captors, but it didn't turn out so well. Either that, or they must have knocked him out again."

"Probably both." Yuri agreed. "They must have just left not long ago." She noted the still hot smouldering ashes of the campfire. "Genma?"

Genma nodded. "Yeah. We can probably still catch up with them. Now if only we can get their scent…" he trailed off.

"Itachi had helped us out a bit here." Raidou remarked over by his corner where he is squatting down by the large pine tree. His three teammates turned towards him, and Raidou held out a Konoha hitai-ate with the cloth torn – probably by rubbing it continuously against the tree trunk. The metal plate looks new, and it obviously belongs to a genin. "You sure taught him well, Yuri." Raidou remarked even as Yuri took the hitai-ate from him.

"Well, I did teach all three of them what to do should they get caught by enemy ninjas." Yuri told her teammates even as she knelt down and held out Itachi's hitai-ate for her wolf, Tsuki. The wolf soon began sniffing into the air before pausing in surprise. "What's up? You got a scent?" Yuri asked, confused.

"No—" Deidara looked surprised, as this is actually the first time that he had heard that wolf speak, and the voice is undeniably a female's. "It's just… Did you order for your two genins to hide back there?" Tsuki had been one of the wolves that Yuri had often summoned to help with her genins' training, and thus, knew the scents of her three genins well.

"No." Yuri said with a frown. "Why?"

"Because Kisuke and Iruka are both just back there." Tsuki gestured towards the trees behind the jounins with a paw.

* * *

"What are they doing?" Kisuke asked irritably, watching with his Byakugan as the four jounins lounged around the forest. The Hyuuga is still trying to catch his breath back, as following four jounins from a considerable distance _without_ getting noticed isn't easy for a genin. Especially so if those four jounins are some of the village's top jounins.

"Kisuke, sensei is going to skin us alive if she knew that we're here." Iruka groaned. "Let's just return to the village! Sensei will bring Itachi back."

"No! It's my fault that Itachi was taken! If only I was just a little stronger…" Kisuke trailed off.

"Just what," said a remarkably cold voice just then that reminds both genins of Arctic snow, "in the name of the Hokage do you both think that you're doing?"

Both genins nearly jumped, and looked up only to see the four jounins whom they'd been spying on just a few moments ago surrounding them. And they don't look pleased. Their sensei especially looked as if she is about to have a coronary, judging by the look on her face.

Iruka clutched at Kisuke. "S-Sensei," he squeaked.

Yuri looked almost as if she is about to breathe fire at any moment now. "Didn't I tell you both to stay behind?" she growled menacingly. "An S-class mission is no place for a genin!"

"We're worried about Itachi!" Kisuke blurted out. "We can't just stand waiting in the village!"

Yuri nearly exploded. "By you two _idiots _being here on this mission, you've already caused the success rate of this mission to go down by at least fifty percent!" The two genins looked at their teacher in surprise, as this is the first time that they'd actually seen her getting so angry. "Because now not only do we have to worry about getting Itachi back once we've actually found those two who'd kidnapped him in the first place, we now also have to worry about your safety!"

"Yuri, chill." Genma interrupted, placing one hand on his girlfriend's arm. He then turned his attention towards the two genins, a look of disapproval on his face. "You both should not be here with us. But we can't spare the time _or _the manpower to send someone back with you to the village now. Thus, you'd better stick with us. _But _you are to do as you're told. If we tell you to hide, you'd better do so. And if we tell you to run, don't ask any questions and do as you're told!" His eyes are like gimlets. "Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear, sir." Both genins squeaked.

Yuri meanwhile still looked pissed. "I can't think right now," she almost groaned. "I'll think of how to deal with you both once we get Itachi back, and once we return to the village." The two genins paled at this as the redhead turned her attention towards her wolf. "Tsuki, follow the trail. We'll catch up."

The wolf nodded before taking off, before being followed by the four jounins and two genins a split second later.

* * *

The team that now comprises of six ninjas were travelling non-stop for nearly two hours before Yuri brought them all to a halt. As just in front of them is a makeshift campsite where the two ninjas whom they'd been searching for, along with a bound and gagged Itachi.

Genma gestured for them to retreat into the trees which they did so, and all gathered around for a quick strategy meeting.

"Well, looks like we found them," said Raidou briskly. "And did you see their hitai-ates?"

Everyone did. On the hitai-ates of the two ninjas is the insignia of the Lightning Country.

Yuri growled lowly. "Kumo is going to have _a lot _of explaining to do once this is over."

"They should have known that someone is going to be after them," said Iruka in confusion. "Why did they stop now to rest?"

Deidara sighed. "Probably because they thought that no one will have found you both until it's too late, and discovered that Itachi is missing," he explained. "And by then, Itachi will probably be hidden somewhere safe. Kisuke forced himself to stay awake long enough to bring himself and you back to Konoha and told the Hokage everything, right?" Iruka nodded. "Most genins just couldn't do that. And well, no one ever said that Kumo is the sharpest of the bunch, anyway." He shrugged.

Yuri sighed tiredly. "And if it's one thing that I'd learned about Kumo during the last war, it is that they are all idiots." She grumbled something beneath her breath. "I don't recognise those two, so probably, they aren't on the Bingo Book."

"Maybe just some low level Kumo chuunins hoping to get some recognition by bringing back a Sharingan user to Kumo where the other two failed with the Hyuuga heiress just two weeks ago." Raidou shrugged, pretending not to notice Kisuke's furious expression. "So orders, Captain?" He directed this question towards Genma.

Genma was silent for several moments before he sighed. "Well, you guys heard our orders from the Hokage earlier when Yuri told us of the mission," he said briskly. "Search and Destroy. Retrieve Itachi first of all. Then…" His eyes were one of murder. "Leave none alive."

**XXXXXX**

Izanagi Shun was practically dozing off during his turn on watch duty, though he doesn't think that it's really necessary at all. With the injuries that those two kids have sustained, they wouldn't have been able to stay conscious for long. And by the time that a Leaf patrol team had found them, both he and his brother would long be across the Kumo border with their prize.

That kid can sure fight though… Shun thought to himself as he nursed his bruised jaw where the brat had kicked him when he had managed to get free. And seeing as how he's the Uchiha heir, it's no surprise.

There was a light thud in the middle of the campsite just then, and acting by instinct alone, Shun grabbed a kunai only to see a redhead kunoichi in front of him, the ends of her jacket fluttering in the wind.

"Hi," she nearly hissed. "I do believe that you've got something of mine." Almost like magic, a kunai appeared in her hand instantly, and Shun saw a Leaf hitai-ate around her neck.

"Shit—"

He never got a chance to shout a warning, as a kunai slipped into his neck like a knife through hot butter, even as a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it landed on the ground, with it going off a few seconds later.

The explosive tag going off was the sign that the Leaf jounins have agreed on. Almost immediately, they were on the offensive against the two surprised Kumo-nins, though one was nearly dead, with Yuri having thrown a kunai straight into his throat.

Kisuke and Iruka were given the job to free Itachi and to take him to a safe spot whilst the jounins deal with the enemy – something that the two were only too happy to do so.

"Itachi! Are you all right?" Iruka asked even as he untied the gag around Itachi's mouth, and Kisuke cut the ropes binding his teammate's hands and feet.

Itachi coughed harshly, and Kisuke felt his heart clench in anger as he saw the dark bruising on Itachi's left cheek, and the obvious finger shaped bruises around his throat. His left arm was also at an odd angle, and he was careful when he moved it – almost like it's broken.

Their sensei appeared in front of them in an instant, knocking away a barrage of kunais that came their way, and glanced over her shoulder. She looked relieved to see that Itachi seemed all right, but she grew angry when she saw his current condition.

"Iruka. Kisuke. Take Itachi and take shelter by one of the trees." She growled, before leaping back into the fight.

"C-Come on, Itachi." Iruka knew better than to oppose his sensei when she's in this mood. "Can you stand?" He wrapped Itachi's good arm around his shoulders and supported the younger boy out of the battlefield, with Kisuke helping him.

Yuri was relieved to see that the three genins were out of the danger zone and kicked the only Kumo-nin that is _still _alive in the face, sending him spiralling backwards. Before the Kumo-nin could even get back up, Raidou had driven a katana through his thigh, driving it straight through the bone and out on the other side, ensuring that he can't get back up.

Deidara nearly winced when he saw this, though he probably shouldn't be too surprised. In Konoha, the senior ninjas never liked it when children were involved in a mission. Hence, they tend to…_overreact _a little whenever it happens.

Yuri had a foot covering the Kumo-nin's chest even before he could scream, her eyes spelling murder, pointing her sword at the Kumo-nin's throat. "I don't really care what the idiot of a Raikage that you have had ordered you to do," she hissed. "But you'd picked the wrong target this night, _Kumo-nin. _You should never have touched my student! He's only eight years old at the most! Just how sick are you to hurt an eight year old like that?"

The Kumo-nin spat at her. "Go to hell, _bitch," _he hissed.

Genma's eyes glinted murder. "That's my girlfriend, you bastard!" he hissed as he smashed the Kumo-nin's head into the ground with his foot. There was a loud sickening crack as something broke beneath Genma's foot, and Deidara is willing to bet his pay for the next ten missions that it's the Kumo-nin's nose.

Yuri sighed as she raised her sword, exchanging looks with Genma. "Well, let's end this," she said coolly even as she let her sword fall.

**XXXXXX**

Early dawn the next morning can find a certain former Uchiha in the Hokage's office, looking at his former jounin instructor with disbelief.

"Itachi was _kidnapped?" _Obito almost howled.

"I've already sent Yuri's old team after him, so they should be getting back soon…" Minato trailed off even as he sensed a familiar chakra signature approaching his office, and the door soon swung opened to admit a tired-looking Namikaze Yuri who had blood splotches on her clothing.

"Mission accomplished, Hokage-sama." Yuri said tiredly. She then noticed Obito. "Hmm? Obito?"

"How's Itachi?" Minato asked with concern.

"Broken arm with a slight concussion. If not, he seems to be all right." Yuri reported. "I've already sent him to the hospital, with Iruka and Kisuke with him." She scowled. "I'm putting them all together in the same room this time, with someone to keep an eye on them at all times. You never know what those three would come up with if left alone." She grumbled. "Boys."

Minato sighed in relief. "Thank god."

"I don't understand though. How can Kumo know that Itachi is out of the village on a mission for the first time without his jounin instructor?" Obito frowned. "Not everyone is privy to the mission details that every ninja takes."

"Yeah well, Genma and I were talking about it earlier. We think it might have to do with the Uchiha clan. Their behaviour is getting outrageous lately." Yuri explained. She then frowned. "By the way, Obito, I need a favour from you."

Obito frowned. "What?" he asked.

"I want you to move Itachi in with you once he's released from the hospital. That is if Itachi agrees," said Yuri. "I'm worried. It seems to me like there's someone targeting Itachi. And I'll feel better if someone keeps an eye on him." She frowned. "And I don't trust his family right now."

"Well, I'm not all that fond of the Uchiha clan myself either, and doing so would piss Fugaku off…" Obito trailed off before grinning. "Why the hell not?"

Minato sighed at the antics of the two in front of him. "You two…" he groaned.


	13. The Great Plot

_Name Change:_ It's not anything major, but just personal preference. Sorry, but every single time I write 'Yuuki' of late, I feel as if I'm writing _Whispering Silk._

**Notes:** Yuri and co. are fifteen years old. Kyuubi isn't sealed in Yuri. Yuri had red hair. Yuri is posing as Minato's sister.

**Warnings:** AU Universe. Character deaths. Slight character bashing. No Kyuubi sealed in Yuri.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: The Great Plot**

"It's a little small, but it should have more than enough room for you to put your stuff." Obito told Itachi as he carried his cousin's small duffel bag into his two room apartment.

Kakashi and Rin have gotten this apartment for him in the shinobi residential district after the Uchiha clan had all but kicked him out during the Third Great Shinobi War when he'd lost his arm during that mission. Most of the ninjas of Konoha who lived by themselves that are usually of high chuunin rank and above got apartments in the ninja residential district. It is only the high class jounins or ANBU like Yuri, Genma, Haku, Gaara, Yugao, Hayate, Raido and Deidara that have residences in the higher security part of the ninja residential district. Most ninja apartments are usually warded with high security measures to discourage break ins, but there are always the few civilians (usually drunk) who decide to try robbing a ninja's apartment.

Itachi had just been discharged from the hospital that morning, with Kisuke and Iruka being discharged two days before their teammate. Nishimura Rin had been the doctor in charge of the three genins of team five, and she had told Yuri that they still couldn't undergo strenuous training. Light training is okay, but nothing anything heavier than that, as they are still recuperating from their injuries after all.

As for the two older genins of genin cell five, Yuri is far from pleased about the stunt that they had pulled by following four jounins on a S-rank mission. When Minato had received the report from Genma, he wasn't amused either. If his sister hadn't managed to persuade him to leave the punishment of her genins to her, the Yondaime Hokage would probably have suspended their ninja licenses for three months.

Privately, Genma had thought to himself that any punishment that Yuri had in mind would probably make whatever that the Hokage had thought up pale in comparison. The redhead is no pushover, and if what Genma had seen of his girlfriend's training sessions with her genins is of any indication, then she could think up of punishments that would make an interrogation session with Morino Ibiki look like a tea party.

When Genma and his team have brought Uchiha Itachi back to the village, Yuri had made sure that there is always at least one ninja of jounin rank with the boy, and that he is never alone. The problems with the Uchiha clan notwithstanding, Yuri is of no mood to stand around all day arguing with the Uchiha clan as to why Itachi has to remain in the hospital. She knows the Uchiha clan head well enough to know that even if Itachi is on his deathbed, Uchiha Fugaku will push Itachi to keep on training.

The clan with that eye disease that they have the audacity to call a doujutsu is never satisfied with the power and privileges that they have in the village and is always demanding more. Even Yuri could see that Itachi would rather spend as long as he could training until he absolutely has to return home.

Though in Yuri's opinion, 'home' is too good a word to describe the Uchiha clan compound.

Like all jounin instructors, Yuri had met with Itachi's parents once when Itachi was first placed under her command. Let's just say that the meeting has had Yuri practicing a lot of self-control to attempt _not_ to stab the Uchiha clan head in the back and claim it as an accident.

The Uchiha clan compound is silent, empty and almost devoid of life. Which is really funny in a way, as there are over 600 people living in the Uchiha clan compound.

Thus, when Minato had agreed to Yuri's request to have Itachi move in with Obito, and have the older _former_ Uchiha (Obito can't use his true clan name any longer) listed as Itachi's guardian, _both_ the Hokage and Yuri have quite the shouting match with the Uchiha clan head.

Fortunately for them, and for Itachi however, Uchiha Fugaku can't do anything. In accordance to the ancient laws of Konoha that was drawn up by the Shodaime Hokage, the jounin instructor of a genin has the right to remove a genin from his or her family if the instructor feels that the home environment isn't healthy and a good place for the genin to be in.

As for Itachi's kidnapping…

It is a furious Minato that got in contact with the Raikage. And like what Yuri, Genma, Raido and even Deidara were expecting, the Raikage had denied any knowledge of this kidnapping, and had claimed that those two nins were nuke-nins and were acting completely on their own.

Minato can't pursue the issue any further either. Thus, the least that he could do is to revamp and upgrade the village's security with Yuri's help, along with upgrading the security seals around the village. Haku and Gaara meanwhile, were also told to secretly look into Konoha's ninjas, as both Yuri and Minato have suspected that Itachi's kidnapping, and even the attempted kidnapping of the Hyuuga heiress awhile back might be due to an inside job.

Uchiha Itachi nodded silently as he looked around his new room. Clearly, Obito had done some decorating when the Hokage had told him that Itachi would be moving in with him. The walls were painted in pale blue, with white curtains tied at the windows. In terms of furnishing, the room merely had a bed, a cupboard, a bedside table with a lamp, and a desk. There was even a beige carpet covering the floor of the room, and the coverings of the bed were in the colours of cream and white.

Obito looked nervously at Itachi, clearly wondering if his younger cousin will like it. "I did what I could. It probably isn't as large or luxurious as your old room, but feel free to decorate it how you like." Obito said hastily.

Itachi offered a rare smile to his cousin. He wouldn't admit it, but the fact that Obito had gone out of his way to decorate the room to make it seem more welcoming and more like home had touched Itachi. Back at the Uchiha clan compound, he was never allowed to decorate his own room the way that he wants to.

In fact, when he was still in the Academy, there was a time when a series of fairly popular manga had been released. The story had been about a wanderer ninja who had met a really strange girl on his travels, and by some strange twist of fate, had ended up serving a lord as one of his 'ten Braves'.

All the boys in Itachi's Academy class had gone crazy over it, as stories like ninjas and samurais were really popular with the kids of the Academy. When Itachi had just bought one volume out of curiosity, and when his father had discovered it, Uchiha Fugaku had plain gone nuts and had shredded the manga right in front of his eyes. He had even told Itachi that manga is not befitting for the Uchiha heir. If it hadn't been for Inuzuka Hana who had been his seatmate in the Academy at that time, and who had also been a fan of the same manga, Itachi would never have been able to read it at all.

That had been the case for nearly as long as Itachi could remember. Uchiha Fugaku never allows him to decorate his room the way that wants to. And it's kind of funny now that Itachi thinks about it, as to why he had never noticed that his room at the Uchiha clan compound resembles a cell more than anything else.

Thus, when his sensei had made the decision to remove him from the Uchiha clan, and from his father's care, Itachi couldn't have been happier to leave. He had never told his sensei anything of his home life. But he had a general suspicion that his sensei might have suspected something going on. Thus why she had immediately gotten his excommunicated cousin to serve as his guardian. As even though Itachi is already a ninja, and thus already considered an adult by ninja law, he is still barely eight years old. Still a child by his sensei's standards.

Itachi's lips quirked slightly when he spotted a row of worn and obviously well read manga with a few ninja scrolls sitting on the desk. Those obviously belonged to Obito, as he had heard a conversation that his sensei had with her boyfriend once when they were in his hospital room that his cousin had a love for all things manga, and had a complete library of manga in his apartment.

The younger boy turned towards his cousin who was looking at him nervously, almost as if waiting for his approval. Itachi smiled a rare smile at Obito. "I think that it's brilliant. It's the best room that I've ever seen."

Obito's ears turned pink.

* * *

The revamping of the village's security and even the security seals had all but taken them nearly two weeks.

And at the end of these two weeks, Yuri was nearly worn out. Along with Haku and Gaara, and nearly half of her friends, and with people like Kushina and Jiraiya, she had been meticulously checking every single detail of the new system, ensuring that she hadn't overlooked anything.

Last that Yuri had heard, the security measures had worked remarkably well, as one of the patrolling ANBU had caught some Iwa-nin sneaking into the village the other night, and had promptly handed the guy over to Morino Ibiki and Yamanaka Inoichi. The two had a blast dragging every bit of information that the Iwa-nin knew out of the guy. And when it was over, Minato had promptly sent the remains of the guy back to old Onoki with a note stating that he didn't like to keep what wasn't his.

All of Yuri's friends could see that she's exhausted, as at one of their usual Thursday night gatherings, the redhead was almost falling asleep into her drink. The redhead didn't even remember making it home that night, but she'd heard Haku muttering something about Genma carrying her home.

Thus, this is why Namikaze Yuri and Shiranui Genma found themselves standing in front of the Hokage two entire weeks after the whole revamping of the village's security and security seals.

"Pardon?" Genma blinked owlishly at the Hokage.

Minato sighed. If his wife hadn't pointed it out to him, he wouldn't have noticed that his 'sister' seems to be really exhausted and tired either. And who could blame her? Between handling the revamping of the village's security, handing the Uchiha clan and even training her team whilst still juggling missions, it is a wonder that she hadn't yet collapsed.

"I said, take a vacation." Minato repeated his words to his sister and her boyfriend. "You've both done enough for the revamping of the village's security. And with the work that Yuri had put into over the last two weeks, I think that me, Kushina and Jiraiya-sensei could handle the rest. You deserve a break. Go on. Take two weeks off. Both of you. We can do without you for awhile. Haku and Gaara can take over the missions that you both usually take in the meantime. They both just had a week's worth of vacation as well. So shoo." He made a shooing motion with his hand. "Furthermore, Kushina will crucify me if something happens to you." He muttered the last part.

Minato's eye twitched as he remembered the threats that his darling wife had made to his person after pointing out Yuri's mental and physical state two nights ago. Even his three year old daughter had noticed just how tired that her favourite aunt aka sister seems to be during one of their Friday night dinners.

The young couple exchanged looks before sighing. "So _this_ is why Haku and Gaara presented us with tickets to the hot springs resort at the next town over." Yuri muttered, her eye twitching as she remembered how her best friends have all but shoved the tickets into her hands after their return from Wave.

"You can take your team with you too." Minato told Yuri. "Let them take a break as well. I think they need it, especially with everything that has happened." He frowned.

"Because of the kidnapping?" Genma frowned, looking from his Hokage to his girlfriend.

Because of the kidnapping, he knew that his girlfriend had been getting a lot of fire from the civilians who have all but worshipped the ground that the Uchiha clan stands on. In their eyes, Yuri had kidnapped the Uchiha clan heir from his rightful place. Of course, those are just the civilians who have lived a pampered life and couldn't tell a kunai's sharp edge from the handles. The ninjas of the village and the civilians who have worked with the village's ninjas on a regular basis knew the story however, and were quick to stop the civilians from badmouthing Yuri.

"Well, that too." Minato sighed. "Also, the chuunin exams are coming up in nine months." He told the two jounins. "They will be held in Suna this year. Whether you want to nominate your team for the exams or not, I'll leave it up to you to decide, Yuri." Yuri nodded slowly. "Anyway, because of everything that's happened, I think it best if the both of you and your genin team take some time away from the village."

Minato left out the fact that Kushina had all but threatened his manhood if he _doesn't _stop interrupting Yuri and Genma whenever they started to get _intimate._ For some reason, the Hokage seems to have some sort of radar whenever Yuri and Genma started getting _hot,_ and will always show up promptly at the _right moment._ And from what he'd heard from Rin, that had been the topic of jokes amongst their peers.

Apparently, Kushina doesn't find it so funny, as she still wants some grandkids, or rather, nieces or nephews. Thus, the idea of letting Genma and Yuri have some getaway time to themselves had been Kushina's idea. She had promptly shot down Minato's suggestion of having Raido and Deidara or even Haku and Gaara going with them. The redhead had argued that they need Haku and Gaara on A-rank and even S-class solo missions. Apart from Yuri and Genma, there are only a few ninjas in the village that could take on solo S-rank missions. Furthermore, Haku and Gaara just had a week's worth of vacation after chasing a group of Iwa-nins all the way to their borders. And as for Raido and Deidara, the same reason as Haku and Gaara. Thus, the least that Minato could do is to send Yuri's genin team with them.

Like what Minato had told Genma when he had that 'man-to-man' talk with the young jounin after he'd heard that the senbon using jounin had started going out with his sister, he doesn't care nor does he minds that he is dating his sister. But he forbids Genma from touching his sister until she is at least eighteen, or until after they're _married._

Minato ignored the fact that most ninjas were far from virgins when they got married. Hence the reason why they got so many young mothers in Konoha these days.

"And also, I think you both need some time off too." Minato said gravely, looking at both ninjas in the eye. This is the Hokage talking, not a concerned brother/father. "Tell me, Yuri. When was the last time that you'd taken a _real _vacation?"

Silence.

It is true that as the Hokage, he is their commanding officer, and thus, Minato is entitled to giving his ninjas day offs if he feels that they need it.

Minato sighed. "Can't answer me, can you? Take this as a mission if you have to. Just go. Shoo. Take two weeks off. Recharge your batteries and all that. Even ninjas are human too, and you need the occasional break."

**XXXXXX**

"We've just passed our peak season, thus, there aren't many visitors here in town." The innkeeper told Yuri and Genma as she led the way to their room. Another attendant had taken the three genins to _their_ room, and Yuri hoped fervently that they are behaving themselves. Because they are here on vacation, none of them have brought their hitai-ates with them, and only brought their standard ninja pouch in case of trouble. They're here as vacationing civilians after all. "When Hokage-sama told us that he would like to book a two week stay for his ninjas, we've immediately reserved our best rooms. It's the least that we could do after all that he'd done for us."

The innkeeper then slid opened the shoji door to the room that they'll be staying in for the next two weeks. It is a relatively large and almost luxurious looking room, although it was furnished with an almost traditional feel like the inns back in Konoha.

"The room here has an open air bath." The innkeeper told the two jounins, sliding opened the shoji door at the end, revealing a hot springs bath. "We have hot springs for the public out back as well. So if the three boys that you've came with wants to, they can use that." The innkeeper blinked as the two jounins refused to look at each other. "Oh, I'm sorry. If you'd prefer co-ed bathing instead—"

"_Separate please!"_

**XXXXXX**

'_Gosh… This is awkward…'_ Genma thought to himself, glancing over his shoulder at his girlfriend who had her back facing him.

And well, who could blame her?

Yuri had retreated back to their room first after their dinner. And when Genma had returned to their room and couldn't find his girlfriend, he had assumed mistakenly that she had wandered out into town for some shopping, and thus decided that a soak in the hot springs could do him some good. And as luck would have it, Yuri happened to be _in_ the hot springs when he'd entered, thus why Genma didn't see her in the room. Needless to say, Genma had seen a lot more of his girlfriend than he'd usually seen, and the man in him can't help admiring her body.

For a mere girl of fifteen, she had a nice body. Like all kunoichis, she is lean and slim, and had the right muscles in just the right places, with her kunoichi training and all. There is no such thing as an ugly kunoichi after all.

"Sorry." Genma mumbled, breaking the awkward silence. "I _honestly_ didn't know that you were in there."

Yuri looked at him suspiciously. "Are you _sure?"_ she asked. "Because for some reason, whenever the girls and I went to the hot springs in Konoha, by some sheer coincidence or fate, you and the other guys will end up using the hot springs at the _exact same moment_ as well! And I hadn't forgotten what had happened the last time when we'd gone to the hot springs."

Genma flushed red at the mere memory of the last hot springs visit, and how Rin, Kurenai, Anko, Haku and Yugao have all kicked the crap out of their respective others along with the other guys when Kotetsu and Izumo have somehow managed to persuade them to peep in on the girls that were bathing on the other side of the divider. Genma had been lucky that he had left before Izumo and Kotetsu could spring their crazy idea on him, and hence, he had escaped being made swish kebab by the girls. For nearly an entire week, the girls have all but ignored the guys.

"I said that I'm sorry!" Genma pleaded, caving in beneath his girlfriend's glare. He hadn't forgotten how scary that Yuri could be when she is angry. And damn, some part of him can't help but think that she looks hot when she's angry. Genma wondered if he isn't secretly a masochist. "I swear that I _didn't_ see anything!"

Total lie. He _did_ see whatever that wasn't covered up by the towel and the hot steam that obscured his view.

Yuri looked at him, and if Genma had been paying close attention to his girlfriend, he would have noticed the mischievous glint in Yuri's eyes. The redhead might be _physically_ fifteen right now, but she had always been more mature than those of her age. Hence the reason why she had gotten along so well with those older than her, like Yugao, Hayate, Raido, Genma and several of the other senior jounins.

Genma seemed to have completely forgotten about the single fact that Yuri had a head for tactics and a sharp mind that is enough to rival that of the Nara clan. Like Genma, Yuri wasn't stupid and completely naïve to the reason as to _why_ and _how_ her 'brother' had always turned up at the _exact moment_ when they were having an intimate moment.

Yuri knew that Kushina had been getting rather annoyed with her husband, as she is eagerly waiting for the day when Genma will be man enough and had enough courage to pop the question to Yuri. But with the way that things are going, who knows when that will be? Hence when Haku and Gaara have returned from their one week vacation with Hayate and Yugao at Wave, and have all but shoved a bunch of tickets for a two week stay at the famous hot springs of the port town of Regalo into her hands, Yuri knew instantly that Kushina had something to do with it.

The redhead isn't completely naïve to love and the workings that go on between a man and a woman. During her original timeline (or at least, whatever memories that she could still remember of it), during her first week as genin, all the kunoichis were gathered by Kurenai, and given a three day crash course on the life of a kunoichi, and what to expect on a mission.

The red-eyed jounin had even gone into details of the birds and the bees, and that sometimes, a kunoichi have to make use of her face and her body to gather information. All ninjas – male or female, were trained to do that. By the time that a ninja had reached jounin rank, they are bound to have given their 'first time' to someone. Whether it be an enemy that they have to sleep with to attain information, an accident during a particularly tough mission, etc.

"Are you saying that I'm not nice to look at?" Genma blanched as Yuri turned on the full puppy dog eyes on him. He could never say no to Yuri whenever she looks at him like that. That had caused Genma to be the butt of jokes from both Raido and Deidara.

"Uh… That's…not what I'm saying." Genma managed, _trying_ very hard to keep a straight face and _not_ to get a nosebleed, especially when he managed to get a nice view of Yuri's legs beneath the yukata that she's wearing. His mind suddenly took a vacation on an R-rated island where inappropriate images of what he could do to Yuri popped up one after the other, particularly when he had 'dreams' of what he could do to her on their wedding night.

"You're saying that I'm not pretty then?"

Was it just him, or were Yuri's eyes _glinting?_

"Uh… That's not…!" Genma choked before he blanched upon seeing Yuri close to him. Since when was she this close? At the rate that this is going, he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't do anything weird to her.

"Or was what Yugao and Haku saying true then?" Yuri turned _sad_ eyes onto Genma.

"W-What they were saying?" Genma squeaked, trying to stop the blood from rising to his face, and trying to stop himself from looking _down_ Yuri's yukata… _Good Lord!_ What the hell is he thinking?

"That you play for the home team." Genma choked on empty air. What the hell are those girls talking about him during his absence? "That's why you never seemed turned on or feel the need to do _things_ whenever we were alone."

Yuri's eyes glinted mischievously. Just a little more, and he will soon snap. She will have to thank Kushina once she gets back to Konoha for her 'tips'. Apparently, she'd used this tactic on Minato as well when they were chuunins, otherwise, Minato will never act on his feelings.

Genma's face flushed red. It's one thing for Raido to be teasing him about his apparent _lack_ of interest in girls before Yuri had shown up, but it's another thing for his _girlfriend's_ female friends to be telling that to _her!_ What the hell were they filling Yuri's head with?

"I'M NOT GAY!" Genma hollered loudly. "I like girls, thank you very much! Particularly _this _girl!" And before Genma even knew what he is doing, he had grabbed a surprised Yuri by her shoulders, and forcefully pulled her to his chest as he planted his lips onto hers. They both stayed that way for several moments before the couple broke apart for air.

Yuri's face was flushed pink as she licked at her slightly swollen lips with a pink tongue, and Genma can't help following that notion with his eyes, slightly embarrassed with his action. "You can be quite a beast in other matters apart than on the battlefield, huh?"

Genma blushed heavily before he groaned, grabbing at the bandanna on his head. "Oh god… You don't know what you're doing to me, do you?" he groaned, covering his face. "You have no idea just how much that I'm holding it in when all I really want is to have my way with you. But Hokage-sama will kill me if I touch you."

"I'll stop him from doing that. Besides, he should accept the fact that I'm a ninja of Konoha as well. And he should know what _that_ means."

Genma smirked. "Should I take that as a 'yes' then?" he asked slyly, gripping Yuri's chin gently, and stealing another kiss from her. "You have no idea just how much I'm holding it in. I don't want to do it with just any girl. There is nothing more precious than you."

Yuri laughed, wrapping her arms around Genma's neck as he wrapped an arm around her slender waist. "Does that means that you're still a virgin?"

Genma's eye twitched. "For someone with a pretty face, you sure had a dirty mouth," he commented, and Yuri giggled. "But yeah. I don't want to do it with just anyone. If I really have to do it with someone, I'll rather it be you. That's why…" He looked at Yuri gently. "Will you wait for me? Wait a few years. I want to give you a proper home and name. I want to marry you legally, being recognised in the eyes of Konoha law."

Yuri smiled. "Can I consider that a proposal?" she teased him. "And here I thought that I'll never hear it."

Genma groaned. "You riled me up on purpose, didn't you?" he sighed. "Just so that I will do _this."_ And before Yuri knew what is happening, she found herself on the ground with Genma hovering above her, their faces just mere inches away from each other. "It's your fault that you made me do this. Because you got me all riled up, and now, I can't keep calm seeing you like that." His eyes were dark and almost possessive.

Yuri hissed as she felt Genma's hand travelling up her thigh further than is appropriate. "You did say that you wouldn't do anything." She gasped as Genma sucked at her neck.

"I said that I wouldn't sleep with you until we're both ready. Not that I wouldn't do anything." Genma grinned at her. "You should learn to never play with a man's emotions like this. We're wolves in sheep skin in the bedroom." He pressed his lips against Yuri's as he pressed her wrists down to the ground. "I don't know whose idea it was to get us here, but I'll have to thank them once we get back." He sucked at Yuri's neck. "I've been getting…frustrated of late."

_That should be my line,_ Yuri thought even as she returned Genma's gestures. She'll have to seriously thank Kushina once she gets back to Konoha.

* * *

Meanwhile back in Konoha, Minato frowned. Why does he suddenly feel like maiming someone?


End file.
